Ōi (shogi)


Ōi is one of the eight titles in Japanese professional shogi. The word means "the king's rank".
The annual tournament started in 1960 sponsored by a group of local newspapers which has consisted of Shimbun Sansha Rengō. With the addition of Ōi, there were four major shogi titles along with Meijin, Ninth Dan, and Ōshō.
The challenger for the title is determined by three-step preliminary round that comprises 1st heat, league competition and final playoff. Top eight players in 1st heat and top four players of previous year are divided into two six-player leagues. Top one of each league advances to final playoff, and the winner of one-game match becomes the challenger.
The player that wins four games out of seven first in the championship will become the new Ōi title holder. Each championship games assign players a six-hour playtime during two days.

Lifetime Ōi

Lifetime Ōi is the title awarded to a player who won the championship five times in a row or ten times in total. Active players may qualify for this title, but it is only officially awarded upon their retirement or death.
Only three professionals have qualified for the Lifetime Oi. They are as follows:
No.YearWinnerScoreOpponent
11960Yasuharu Oyama41Masao Tsukada
21961Yasuharu Oyama 41Yuzō Maruta
31962Yasuharu Oyama 40Motoji Hanamura
41963Yasuharu Oyama 42Hifumi Katō
51964Yasuharu Oyama 42Tatsuya Futakami
61965Yasuharu Oyama 40Daigoroh Satō
71966Yasuharu Oyama 41Michio Ariyoshi
81967Yasuharu Oyama 41Nobuyuki Ōuchi
91968Yasuharu Oyama 42Michio Ariyoshi
101969Yasuharu Oyama 42Kazuyoshi Nishimura
111970Yasuharu Oyama 41Kunio Yonenaga
121971Yasuharu Oyama 43Makoto Nakahara
131972Kunio Naitō41Yasuharu Oyama
141973Makoto Nakahara40Kunio Naitō
151974Makoto Nakahara 42Kunio Yonenaga
161975Makoto Nakahara 42Kunio Naitō
171976Makoto Nakahara 42Osamu Katsuura
181977Makoto Nakahara 42Kunio Yonenaga
191978Makoto Nakahara 41Yasuharu Oyama
201979Kunio Yonenaga43Makoto Nakahara
211980Makoto Nakahara 40Kunio Yonenaga
221981Makoto Nakahara 43Yasuharu Oyama
231982Kunio Naitō 42Makoto Nakahara
241983Michio Takahashi42Kunio Naitō
251984Hifumi Katō43Michio Takahashi
261985Michio Takahashi 40Hifumi Katō
271986Michio Takahashi 40Kunio Yonenaga
281987Koji Tanigawa41Michio Takahashi
291988Keiji Mori43Koji Tanigawa
301989Koji Tanigawa 41Keiji Mori
311990Koji Tanigawa 43Yasumitsu Satō
321991Koji Tanigawa 42Hiroki Nakata
331992Masataka Goda42Koji Tanigawa
341993Yoshiharu Habu40Masataka Goda
351994Yoshiharu Habu 43Masataka Goda
361995Yoshiharu Habu 42Masataka Goda
371996Yoshiharu Habu 41Koichi Fukaura
381997Yoshiharu Habu 41Yasumitsu Satō
391998Yoshiharu Habu 42Yasumitsu Satō
401999Yoshiharu Habu 40Koji Tanigawa
412000Yoshiharu Habu 43Koji Tanigawa
422001Yoshiharu Habu 40Nobuyuki Yashiki
432002Koji Tanigawa 41Yoshiharu Habu
442003Koji Tanigawa 41Yoshiharu Habu
452004Yoshiharu Habu 41Koji Tanigawa
462005Yoshiharu Habu 43Yasumitsu Satō
472006Yoshiharu Habu 42Yasumitsu Satō
482007Koichi Fukaura43Yoshiharu Habu
492008Koichi Fukaura 43Yoshiharu Habu
502009Koichi Fukaura 43Kazuki Kimura
512010Akihito Hirose42Koichi Fukaura
522011Yoshiharu Habu 43Akihito Hirose
532012Yoshiharu Habu 41Takeshi Fujii
542013Yoshiharu Habu 41Hisashi Namekata
552014Yoshiharu Habu 421Kazuki Kimura
562015Yoshiharu Habu 41Akihito Hirose
572016Yoshiharu Habu 43Kazuki Kimura
582017Tatsuya Sugai41Yoshiharu Habu
592018Masayuki Toyoshima43Tatsuya Sugai
602019Kazuki Kimura 43Masayuki Toyoshima

Records