By Galo S Mirth
2018 was one of the most eventful years in modern shogi. The title map changed repeatedly, a long run of one-crown holders returned for the first time in decades, and new names took major stages in both men’s and women’s title events. It was also a year when online broadcasting and pop culture ties made shogi more visible to general audiences.
1) The title scene kept moving all year
The 2018 season did not have one dominant champion across multiple crowns. Instead, titleholders changed in several major series and the balance of power looked unusually fluid.
- Meijin: Sato Amahiko defended against Habu Yoshiharu in the 76th Meijin title match (4-2).
- Kisei: Toyoshima Masayuki defeated Habu 3-2 in the 89th Kisei, taking his first major title.
- Oza: Saito Shintaro defeated Nakamura Taichi 3-2 in the 66th Oza.
- Ryuo: Hirose Akihito defeated Habu 4-3 in the 31st Ryuo and captured the crown.
One widely noted point from Japanese reporting and yearly summaries is that, after Toyoshima’s Kisei win, all major titleholders were holding one title each, a rare “crowded top” pattern not seen for many years.
2) Hirose Akihito’s Ryuo run was a headline story
The 31st Ryuo was one of the year’s signature narratives. Habu entered as defending Ryuo, but challenger Hirose Akihito won a full seven-game series 4-3 and took the title. That result capped a season in which Hirose became central to the top-title conversation.
For readers who follow title-line continuity, this was also a meaningful transition point from Habu’s late-2017 peak period into a more multi-polar 2018 to 2019 top tier.
3) Fujii Sota reached 7-dan at a record age
On May 18, 2018, Fujii Sota was promoted to 7-dan at 15 years and 9 months after advancing in the Ryuo ranking event, setting a new youngest-ever mark for that rank according to Japanese yearly records and federation-linked coverage in annual summaries.
By this point, Fujii was already a major public figure in the broader “shogi boom” environment, and 2018 helped lock in the sense that an entire generation shift was underway.
4) New title branding and media-era tournament energy
Institutionally, 2018 also brought format and branding changes that signaled where pro shogi was heading:
- The Kisei title event became the Hulic Cup Kisei-sen under new special sponsorship naming.
- ABEMA announced and ran its first major fast-time-control tournament format tied to Habu’s Fischer-style time concept, helping push shogi further into digital-first viewing habits.
These shifts mattered because they connected top-level play to newer broadcast audiences and shorter-format consumption without replacing the prestige of long title matches.
5) Women’s shogi also had major firsts
2018 was not only a men’s-title story. In women’s title events, there were notable first-time winners and strong momentum changes:
- Nishiyama Tomoka won the Mynavi Women’s Open title (Jo-o) for her first major women’s crown.
- Watanabe Mana won the Women’s Oi title as a first-time titleholder.
Taken together with the men’s side, the year looked unusually open across the full professional ecosystem.
6) Shogi in wider culture: film and public visibility
In September 2018, the film adaptation of Nakimushi Shottan no Kiseki was released, bringing the story of Segawa Shoji to a wider movie audience. While shogi has long had strong media presence in Japan, 2018 was a year where elite competition, streaming visibility, and narrative culture all reinforced each other.
Conclusion
If 2017 was remembered for Habu’s 7-crown return and Fujii’s unbeaten streak, then 2018 felt like the consolidation year of a new landscape: many elite contenders, frequent title movement, and a stronger bridge between traditional title prestige and modern digital spectatorship.
Sources (Japanese)
- Wikipedia日本語版「2018年度の将棋界」(oldid=106838699): https://ja.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2018%E5%B9%B4%E5%BA%A6%E3%81%AE%E5%B0%86%E6%A3%8B%E7%95%8C&oldid=106838699
- Wikipedia日本語版「第31期竜王戦」(oldid=99511095): https://ja.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%E7%AC%AC31%E6%9C%9F%E7%AB%9C%E7%8E%8B%E6%88%A6&oldid=99511095
- Wikipedia日本語版「将棋大賞」(oldid=105912716): https://ja.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%E5%B0%86%E6%A3%8B%E5%A4%A7%E8%B3%9E&oldid=105912716
- Wikipedia日本語版「広瀬章人」(oldid=108292390): https://ja.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%E5%BA%83%E7%80%AC%E7%AB%A0%E4%BA%BA&oldid=108292390
- Wikimedia Commons「File:広瀬章人AkihitoHirose2.jpg」: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%E5%BA%83%E7%80%AC%E7%AB%A0%E4%BA%BAAkihitoHirose2.jpg