When and how did you learn to play Shogi?
My neighbourhood friend, of the same age, taught me when I was 6 years old.
What is your most memorable Shogi achievement?
That I took all the seven big titles in 1996.
If you weren't a professional Shogi player, what would you like to do for your living?
I didn't think about other professions, as I decided to become a Shogi professional at the age of 11.
Do you have any Shogi idols, who are they and why?
Kozo Masuda, who, 40 years ago, already had the very modern feeling of today's Shogi. Unfortunately, the period in which he showed his brilliance at the very best didn't last long. It was only for five years.
Can you rank the strongest professional Shogi players of today?
Now two of the very best titles in Shogi are the Ryu-o and the Meijin, so those who have these two titles, Mr. Fujii and Mr. Maruyama, are considered to be champions. Maybe I'm the third one.
What do you think about changing the appearance of Shogi in order to make it more accessible to a western player? Like using pieces which have symbols derived from western chess or diagrams which show how each piece moves? Or using two-coloured board which would make recognising bishop moves easier. I believe that there could be tactical patterns that could be much more easily understood and taught if the board had two colours.
I think it's possible to change the design of pieces, because it doesn't change the essence of the game of Shogi. But let me add, that to divide the board into two colours makes thing more complicated, at least for me.
Is there anything you would still like to achieve in Shogi?
To be on the top level for a long time, and not to forget, when I play, the spirit of challenge.
Do you think there will be someone who will hold the seven crowns again?
Maybe there is a possibility, but it's very low. It is more physically difficult than technically.
What is the most negative aspect of being a shogi professional?
(The bad thing is that) I cannot relax very often, as every time I finish my game, I have another one.
What's the funniest thing that ever happened to you during a Shogi game?
When I played a game in a summer, in a typical Japanese style building, there were a lot of mosquitoes in pond in the garden. As these Japanese houses have many cracks, they came into the playing room, bit us, and even walked on the board! So the organizers had to seal all the cracks with gum tape, to keep them out.
How do you prepare for an important game or match?
I don't think a lot about my opponents. I rather try to enrich my own opening strategy.
Shogi professionals' use of their brains has been studied in Japan. It was noticed that you use mainly the right side of brain during a game which was exceptional among the professionals. Do you think that explains any of your success in the field of Shogi, or is it just a coincidence?
Of course I can't conceive, with which part of brain I am thinking. But I feel that when I look for the best move, I can achieve this faster, when I do so not just with logical thinking (which we are supposed to do with the left part of the brain), but also with the help of some intuition.
To what extent does the Japanese Shogi Association plan to promote the game in the west and how?
To promote Shogi in western countries, maybe we need an alternative approach to that of the promotion of Go, as these countries already have Chess, which is basically a very similar game, as a cultural core.
More concretely, I think that cultural exchange will be a good form to begin with, so as to promote mutual understanding of history, culture, and nationality. It will be ideal, if we have more fans of each other (Shogi fans in the West and chess fans in Japan) as a result of this mutual understanding.
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