Kōzō Masuda

Kōzō Masuda (升田 幸三, Masuda Kōzō; March 21, 1918 – April 5, 1991) was a Japanese professional shogi player who achieved the rank of 9-dan.^[1] He is a former Meijin who was known for playing very creative shogi. For instance, top player Yoshiharu Habu considered Masuda's playing style to be 30 years ahead of its time and the origin of the modern way to play shogi.^[2]

Kōzō Masuda
Masuda in 1952
Native name	升田幸三
Born	(1918-03-21)March 21, 1918
Hometown	Mirasaka, Hiroshima
Nationality	Japanese
Died	April 5, 1991(1991-04-05) (aged 73)
Career
Achieved professional status	January 1, 1936(1936-01-01) (aged 17)
Badge Number	18
Rank	9 dan
Retired	1979 (43 years)
Teacher	Kinjirō Kimi [ja]
Major titles won	7
Tournaments won	6
Career record	544–376 (.591)
Websites
JSA profile page

Life

Kōzō Masuda Award

Each year since 1995 the Japan Shogi Association has awarded the Kōzō Masuda Award (升田幸三賞 Masuda Kōzō Shō) to the player or players whose innovative new ideas in shogi theory or tactics, or whose new or excellent moves have attracted significant attention among other shogi players and fans during the year.^[3]

A second award is the Masuda Special Prize (升田幸三賞特別賞), which is given out infrequently.

Promotion history

The promotion history of Masuda is as follows:^[4]

• 1947: 8-dan
• 1959: 9-dan

Major titles and other championships

Masuda won the Meijin title in 1957 and 1958, and was the loser in the title match another eight times. He also won the Osho title three times (1951 and 1955–56) and the now defunct 9-dan Title [ja] twice (1957–58). Overall, Masuda won a major title seven times and appeared in a major title match twenty-three times during his career.^[5][6]

In addition to major titles, Masuda won the NHK Shogi Cup three times (1952, 1957 and 1963) and other shogi tournaments four times.^[7]

Awards and honors

Masuda was awarded the Japanese government's Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbons in November 1973.^[8]

SCAP Incident

In 1947, during the Allied occupation of Japan, Masuda was summoned by the office of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (metonymically SCAP) to testify on the game of shogi, which it had resolved to ban. SCAP, which sought to purge militaristic and "feudalistic" elements of Japanese culture, saw shogi as depicting prisoner of war abuse: "In contrast with chess, in shogi, captured pieces may be used by the player that captures them; this constitutes POW abuse.",^[9] said one high ranking SCAP official. Masuda countered: "In chess, captured pieces cannot be used; this is akin to the execution of prisoners of war. In shogi, prisoners of war–captured pieces–retain their rank (a bishop stays a bishop, and a general, a general), their abilities (or jobs), and their dignity as equal allies of the capturer. This very mechanic is truly democratic."^[10] He added: "In chess, the king uses his queen as a shield to escape from danger. Is this not contrary to your ideals of democracy, and 'ladies first'?"^[11] Masuda impressed his interviewers, and his remarks are said to have influenced SCAP's decision to not ban shogi.