Japanese Shogi Star Sota Fujii Becomes Eligible to Earn Eisei Lifetime Ryuo Honor after Winning Title 5 Consecutive Times

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:38 JST, November 14, 2025

Sota Fujii defeated eighth-dan challenger Yuuki Sasaki 4-0 and defended his title in the best-of-seven Ryuo shogi title series in Kyoto on Thursday.

Fujii, 23, won his fifth consecutive Ryuo title, the most prestigious title in the shogi world, and has become eligible to earn the eisei lifetime Ryuo honor after he retires.

Fujii won the title in the fourth match in 138 moves at Kyoto Racecourse.

He became the third player ever to become eligible to earn the eisei Ryuo honor. In addition to the Ryuo honor, Fujii also became eligible for the Kisei and Oi eisei honors in 2024.

There are eight shogi titles in total. Securing eligibility for three eisei honors at 23 years and 3 months old, Fujii broke the previous record of 25 years and 11 months set by Yoshiharu Habu in September 1996.

Throughout the Ryuo series, Fujii’s flawless play shone brightly.

Fujii lost his Oza title after being defeated by Takumi Ito in the deciding match of the best-of-five series on Oct. 28, dropping the number of titles he holds to six. Nevertheless, Fujii seemed unaffected, as he showed his sharpness in the third and fourth matches of the Ryuo series.

The eisei honors are titles that are typically claimed after a player retires. Players must meet certain conditions before they can become eligible to earn an eisei honor, and conditions are different for each title, such as winning the title five consecutive times or 10 times in total.

The eisei Ryuo honor requires a player to win the title five consecutive times or seven times in total. Ninth-dan Akira Watanabe was the first to become eligible for the honor in 2008, and Habu became the second in 2017. Habu is eligible to earn eisei honors for seven titles.