TOKYO - Shogi player Tomoka Nishiyama said Monday she will exercise her right to join the game's main professional "kishi" ranks as the first woman to do so.
The 31-year-old will be promoted to "yodan," the entry-level rank in the kishi system, on April 1.
Under a new Japan Shogi Association rule, Nishiyama became the first woman to qualify for kishi status earlier this month by winning her fifth Hakurei title, the most prestigious championship in women's professional shogi.
Shogi, a traditional board game similar to chess, has two separate professional systems for kishi and "joryu kishi," or female players.
Until last year, women seeking to enter the kishi ranks, which are open to both male and female players, had to advance through the association's demanding competition system, but no woman had ever succeeded in doing so.
The association introduced the new rule last year allowing female professional players to qualify for the kishi ranks by winning the Hakurei title five times. The new rule was approved by a majority vote in the association's annual meeting despite having drawn divided opinion.
An Osaka native, Nishiyama also entered the association's competition system at the age of 14, but left at 21 and became a joryu kishi. She is known for her aggressive playing style.
