If you’re new to shogi (Japanese chess), the pieces can feel like little mystery wedges covered in symbols. Those symbols are kanji—Chinese characters used in Japanese writing—and each one tells you what the piece is.
The good news: you don’t have to “know Japanese” to get comfortable with them. In this post, I’ll show you the most common kanji you’ll see on shogi pieces, what they mean, and how to pronounce the piece names out loud. (more…)
If you’ve been watching shogi online or learning the rules at home, you’ve probably wondered: “Who runs all this?” In Japan, shogi is not only a game. It’s a whole culture, with leagues, events, teachers, and big community networks.
Below are five major shogi organizations (and one big network) that you’ll see again and again when you explore Japanese shogi life. I’m not ranking them. This is just a helpful “map.”
Heads up: these sites are mostly Japanese. Your browser’s translate button can do a lot.
I love standard shogi: the 9×9 board, the quiet tension, and the “wait… you can drop THAT?!” moments.
But sometimes I want something faster. Or something I can teach in minutes. Or a shogi‑flavored game that works with kids and friends who don’t know the pieces.
Japan has a whole world of “casual shogi” (カジュアル将棋) and shogi-inspired games. I dug up these five modern variants that show up again and again as popular, selling well, or widely played shogi variants. (more…)
If you only follow shogi in English, you’re seeing the game through a small window. English shogi websites are awesome, but most of the “main stage” is still in Japan. That means a lot of the biggest shogi pages are Japanese-only. They aren’t fully copied into English, and they don’t have a real English twin.
Here are five Japanese shogi sites that Japanese fans use all the time—and that English shogi sites can’t really replace. I’ll also show you what to click, even if your Japanese is close to zero.
This is my routine:
Now let’s jump in. (more…)
I’ve added a new Middle (Chu) Shogi game to the site.
https://japanesechess.org/chushogi2026/
Middle Shogi is the common English name for 中将棋（ちゅうしょうぎ / Chū Shōgi）. It is an older, bigger shogi game played on a 12×12 board with 46 pieces per player (92 total) and 21 kinds of pieces.
This guide explains one common modern rule set described in Japanese sources (including special Lion rules and “no piece drops”).
Note: Some groups and computer programs use different promotion timing rules, so always agree on rules before you start. (more…)
Shogi (将棋) is the Japanese version of an ancient Indian game that became Chess in Europe and xiangqi in China. In fact, Shogi is frequently referred to as Japanese chess in the English speaking world.
Shogi is played on a 9×9 board, unlike the 8×8 board of Western chess. Shogi has some pieces that are very similar to Western chess, a king, pawns, rook, bishop, and knight. Shogi also has pieces that are not found in Western chess such as gold generals, silver generals and the lance.
The most interesting difference between shogi and chess is that when opposing pieces are captured in shogi, they become loyal to the player that captured them. These captured pieces are then dropped back on the board to continue the game. (more…)