Japanese professional system

The number of professionals in Japan

• 327 professionals at Nihon Kiin (including 76 9d)
• 129 professionals at Kansai Kiin (including 31 9d)

Or 456 professionals as of January 1, 2014.

How to become professional players?

Nihon Kiin

The age limit to become professionals is 23 years old. There may be exceptions for non-Asian players.

There are two ways to become a professional.

1. Either obtain very good results in the internal Insei tournament in Tokyo (professional apprentices) – 1 person per year (in summer)

2. Either pass a competition (in winter) – 2 in Tokyo, 1 in Nagoya, 1 in Ôsaka. These competitions, in fact round-robin tournaments (everyone plays against everyone), are open to all those who are qualified (high-level Insei + external players who have won a preliminary tournament). They are followed by a competition reserved for female players, where only one becomes professional.

In total, 6 players become professionals each year.

Kansai Kiin

To become professional at Kansai-kiin, you must go through the Insei system, the age limit being 18 for male players, 26 for female players. The competition system for external players, which was created in the 2000s, seems to no longer be relevant recently. This competition, which has a higher age limit (26 years and 30 years for players who have won amateur titles), consists of two games against a professional of less than 5 dan followed by a game against a 9 dan. Two victories allows access to “semi-professional” status. A “semi-professional” can become a “real” professional if he obtains good results in tournaments.

Professional life

Japanese professionals do not have a salary. They earn their living either by winning matches (for which a certain amount is offered by sponsors) or by giving lessons. They play in seven major tournaments and other quick game tournaments. There are also women's tournaments. The tournament with the most prizes is the Kisei, with a prize of 45 million yen (316 thousand euros) for the winner. They have no retirement age, unless they deliberately cease their activities. Moreover, Sugiuchi Masao 9 dan, the oldest player still active, was born in…. 1920 (93 years old)! On the other hand, the youngest professional is Fujisawa Rina 2 dan, 15 years old, born in 1998.