By Galo S Mirth
Early February 2026 has been unusually dense for Japanese shogi news. The official Japan Shogi Association feeds show major title match swings, a historic career milestone announcement, new event recruitment notices, and community facing updates that matter for both dedicated followers and casual fans.
Title match headlines dominated the week
The biggest competitive stories in the official news list were from the two top title fronts. In the Osho match, Takuya Nagase’s Game 4 win over Sota Fujii reset the tension in the series. In the Kioh match, Yasuhiro Masuda’s Game 1 win and the run up to Game 2 set up a high pressure early phase in a five game format. Together, these results reinforced that even in the Fujii era, challenger adaptation remains decisive. (more…)