The Annual Shogi Awards (将棋大賞 shōgi taishō) are a number of prizes awarded yearly by the Japan Shogi Association to professional and amateur shogi players who have achieved particular success. The first Annual Shogi Awards were presented in 1974.
Winners Below is a table of the awards given and the award winners for each year. + No.Shogi YearPlayer of the YearSpecial AwardExcellent PlayerFighting SpiritGame of the YearSpecial Game of the YearBest Winning PercentageMost Games Won53April 2025March 2026Sōta Fujii (6) Takumi Itō (3)Takuya Nagase (3)Sōta Fujii vs. Takumi Itō (Game 5, 73rd Ōza Title Match)Nagisa Fujimoto (1) (40 wins12 losses, 0.769 winning percentage) (46 wins apiece) 52 April 2024March 2025 Sōta Fujii (5) Takumi Itō (2) Takuya Nagase (2) Sōta Fujii vs. Takumi Itō (Game 5, 9th Eiō Title Match) Sōta Fujii vs. Yasuhiro Masuda (Semifinals, 74th NHK Cup TV Shogi Tournament) Shin'ichirō Hattori (1) (43 wins8 losses, 0.846 winning percentage) Reo Okabe (1) (49 wins) 51 April 2023March 2024 Sōta Fujii (4) Takumi Itō (1) Tadahisa Maruyama (1) Sōta Fujii vs. Masayuki Toyoshima (71st Ōza Tournament Challenger Playoff) Takuya Nagase vs. Sōta Fujii (71st Ōza Title Match Game 4) Sōta Fujii (6) (46 wins8 losses, 0.852 winning percentage) (51 wins apiece) 50 April 2022March 2023 Sōta Fujii (3) Akira Watanabe Yoshiharu Habu Sōta Fujii vs. Yoshiharu Habu Sōta Fujii vs. Yasuhiro Masuda Sōta Fujii (0.828 winning percentage) Sōta Fujii (53 wins) 49 April 2021March 2022 Sōta Fujii (2) Akira Watanabe Tatsuya Sugai Masayuki Toyoshima vs. Sōta Fujii Takumi Itō (0.818 winning percentage) Sōta Fujii (54 wins) 48 April 2020March 2021 Sōta Fujii (1) Akira Watanabe Masayuki Toyoshima Akira Watanabe vs. Sōta Fujii Sōta Fujii vs. Ayumu Matsuo Sōta Fujii (0.846 winning percentage) (44 wins apiece) 47 April 2019March 2020 Akira Watanabe (2) Kazuki Kimura Masayuki Toyoshima Takuya Nagase Masayuki Toyoshima vs. Kazuki Kimura Akihito Hirose vs. Sōta Fujii Sōta Fujii (0.815 winning percentage) Sōta Fujii (53 wins) 46April 2018March 2019 Masayuki Toyoshima (1) Akira Watanabe Akihito Hirose Amahiko Satō vs. Yoshiharu Habu Mana Watanabe vs. Hatsumi Ueda Sōta Fujii (0.849 winning percentage) Daichi Sasaki (46 wins) 45April 2017March 2018 Yoshiharu Habu (22) Sōta Fujii Tatsuya Sugai Masayuki Toyoshima Akira Watanabe vs. Yoshiharu Habu Sōta Fujii (0.836 winning percentage) Sōta Fujii (61 wins) 44April 2016March 2017 Amahiko Satō Hifumi Katō Yoshiharu Habu Toshiaki Kubo Yasumitsu Satō vs. Kōichi Fukaura Kana Satomi vs. Hatsumi Ueda (0.750 winning percentage apiece) Shōta Chida (48 wins) 43April 2015March 2016 Yoshiharu Habu (21) Akira Watanabe Amahiko Satō Akira Watanabe vs. Amahiko Satō Kenjirō Abe vs. Yoshiharu Habu Shintarō Saitō (0.769 winning percentage) Amahiko Satō (41 wins)42April 2014March 2015 Yoshiharu Habu (20) Tetsurō Itodani Masataka Gōda Yoshiharu Habu vs Masayuki Toyoshima Mitsunori Makino vs Ryuuma Tonari Tatsuya Sugai (0.796 winning percentage) Tatsuya Sugai (43 wins)41April 2013March 2014 Toshiyuki Moriuchi (2) Yoshiharu Habu Masataka Gōda Yoshiharu Habu vs. Taichi Nakamura Hiroyuki Miura vs Toshiaki Kubo Yasuaki Murayama (0.767 winning percentage) Yoshiharu Habu (42 wins)40April 2012March 2013 Akira Watanabe Yoshiharu Habu Yoshiharu Habu Taichi Nakamura Yoshiharu Habu vs. Akira Watanabe Kana Satomi vs. Hatsumi Ueda Takuya Nagase (0.786 winning percentage) Habu (51 wins)39April 2011March 2012 Yoshiharu Habu (19) Akira Watanabe Masataka Gōda Akira Watanabe vs. Tadahisa Maruyama Taichi Nakamura (0.851 winning percentage) (44 wins apiece)38April 2010March 2011 Yoshiharu Habu (18) Akihito Hirose Akihito Hirose vs. Kōichi Fukaura Toshiyuki Moriuchi vs. Takeshi Fujii Amahiko Satō (0.795 winning percentage) Yoshiharu Habu (43 wins)37April 2009March 2010 Yoshiharu Habu (17) Toshiaki Kubo Kazuki Kimura Toshiaki Kubo vs. Yasumitsu Satō Kōichi Kodama vs. Kōta Kanai Masayuki Toyoshima (0.763 winning percentage) Masayuki Toyoshima (45 wins) 36 April 2008March 2009 Yoshiharu Habu (16) Makoto Nakahara Akira Watanabe Toshiaki Kubo Akira Watanabe vs. Yoshiharu Habu Atsushi Miyata (0.757 winning percentage) Toshiaki Kubo (49 wins)37April 2007March 2008 Yoshiharu Habu (15) Yasumitsu Satō Kōichi Fukaura Kōichi Fukaura vs. Yoshiharu Habu Yasuaki Murayama (0.783 winning percentage) Yoshiharu Habu (44 wins)36April 2006March 2007 Yasumitsu Satō Yoshiharu Habu Akira Watanabe Kōji Tanigawa vs. Yoshiharu Habu Chikara Akutsu (0.776 winning percentage) Yasumitsu Satō (57 wins)35April 2005March 2006 Yoshiharu Habu (14) Yasumitsu Satō Shin'ya Satō (0.787 winning percentage) Akira Watanabe (41 wins)
Kōzō Masuda Awards
The Kōzō Masuda Award (升田幸三賞 Masuda Kōzō shō) and the Kōzō Masuda Special Prize (升田幸三賞特別賞 Masuda Kōzō shō takubetsu shō) are two prizes awarded to professional or amateur players who have made an outstanding contribution to the development and evolution of shogi openings by way of innovation or excellence in shogi theory or tactics. The awards are named after the innovative player, Kōzō Masuda. The Masuda Award is given out yearly since 1995 while the Masuda Special Prize is awarded infrequently.
Winners Masuda Award 1994 (22nd Annual Shogi Awards): Kunio Naitō for the Side Pawn Capture, Bishop-33 variations. 1995 (23rd Annual Shogi Awards): Makoto Nakahara for the Nakahara variation of Side Pawn Capture and the Nakahara castle. 1996 (24th Annual Shogi Awards): Takeshi Fujii for the Fujii System. 1997 (25th Annual Shogi Awards): Teruichi Aono for the Saginomiya joseki. 1998 (26th Annual Shogi Awards): Makoto Chūza for the Side Pawn Capture, Chūza's Rook. 1999 (27th Annual Shogi Awards): Kunio Yonenaga for the Yonenaga King. 2000 (28th Annual Shogi Awards): Hiroyuki Miura for the Millennium castle. 2001 (29th Annual Shogi Awards): Masakazu Kondō for the Cheerful Central Rook. 2002 (30th Annual Shogi Awards): Kōichi Kodama for the Crab Silvers. 2003 (31st Annual Shogi Awards): Kōji Tanigawa for his ...S-77+ move in his A-class Ranking Match against Akira Shima. 2004 (32nd Annual Shogi Awards): Daisuke Suzuki for the New Quick Ishida (4. P-7d). 2005 (33rd Annual Shogi Awards): Hitoshige Awaji for the Tempo Loss Bishop Exchange. 2006 (34th Annual Shogi Awards): Yasumitsu Satō for the ambition and variety of moves in Direct Opposing Rook. 2007 (35th Annual Shogi Awards): Kenji Imaizumi for the 1... R-32 opening. 2008 (36th Annual Shogi Awards): Toshiaki Kubo for his 6. R-7e move in the 2nd. match against Yasumitsu Satō for the 34th Kiō title. 2009 (37th Annual Shogi Awards): Eiji Iijima for the Iijima Bishop Pullback. 2010 (38th Annual Shogi Awards): Yoshitaka Hoshino for the Super High Speed Silver-37 strategy. 2011 (39th Annual Shogi Awards): Yasumitsu Satō for the move 13. K-57 in his first game against Toshiaki Kubo for the Ōshō title. 2012 (40th Annual Shogi Awards): Takeshi Fujii for the Bishop Exchange Fourth File Rook. 2013 (41st Annual Shogi Awards): Ayumu Matsuo for the ...K-52 variation of Side Pawn Capture. 2014 (42nd Annual Shogi Awards): Tatsuya Sugai for his many tactical variations against Central Rook Anaguma, Cheerful Central Rook, Quick Ishida and others. 2015 (43rd Annual Shogi Awards): Eisaku Tomioka for the Tomioka variation of Bishop Exchange, Reclining Silver. 2016 (44th Annual Shogi Awards): Shōta Chida for the Bishop Exchange, Reclining Silver variations K-42/G-62/R-81. 2017 (45th Annual Shogi Awards): Teruichi Aono for the Aono Side Pawn Capture, and Yūki Sasaki for the Yūki Side Pawn Capture . 2018 (46th Annual Shogi Awards): Sōta Fujii for the move 38. ... Rx7g+ in the final match of the 5th class of the 31st Ryūō Ranking tournament against Naohiro Ishida on June 5, 2018. 2019 (47th Annual Shogi Awards): The shogi engine elmo for developing the "elmo castle". 2020 (48th Annual Shogi Awards): Takahiro Ōhashi for the Yōryū Fourth File Rook 2021 (49th Annual Shogi Awards): Shōta Chida for the Bishop Exchange Gold-33 Rushing Silver Attack 2022 (50th Annual Shogi Awards): Hiroaki Ureshino (amateur) for Ureshino opening 2023 (51st Annual Shogi Awards): Takumi Itō for the (Impasse strategy used in Game 1 of the 49th Kiō Title Match) 2024 (52nd Annual Shogi Awards): Amahiko Satō for the Opposing Rook Bishop-66 strategy. 2025 (52nd Annual Shogi Awards): Hatasu Itō for the Pinwheel opening strategy.
Masuda Special Prize 2002 Katsumi Tateishi for the Tateishi Fourth File Rook. 2004 Taku Morishita for the Morishita System. 2008 Kazuo Manabe for his splendid, phantom ...*B-42 move in his (last) match against Masayuki Toyoshima. 2010 Takayuki Yamasaki for the New Yamasaki variation of Side Pawn Capture. 2014 Yasuaki Tsukada for the Tsukada Special developed in the mid-1980s. 2015 Hifumi Katō for his developments and many novel contributions for Climbing Silver over his 62-year career. 2016 Nobuyuki Ōuchi for his many developments in the strategy for Bear-in-the-hole Ranging Rook. 2017 Tadahisa Maruyama for his research on Bishop Exchange opening including Tempo Loss Bishop Exchange. 2018 Kenji Waki for the Waki System. 2019 Sōta Fujii for the move 58...S*31 in Game 2 of the 91st Kisei title match. 2021 Torahiko Tanaka for his developments in opening strategy for Static Rook Anaguma and Yagura Without Pushing the Rook Pawn among others. 2023 Akihiro Murata (Murata System)
References