Tadao Kitajima

Tadao Kitajima (北島 忠雄, Kitajima Tadao; born January 4, 1966) is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 7-dan. He is a former director of the Japan Shogi Association.

Tadao Kitajima
Native name	北島忠雄
Born	(1966-01-04) January 4, 1966 (age 59)
Hometown	Tokyo Metropolis
Career
Achieved professional status	April 1, 1995(1995-04-01) (aged 29)
Badge Number	214
Rank	7-dan
Teacher	Shigeru Sekine [ja] (9-dan)
Meijin class	C2
Ryūō class	4
Notable students	Aya Uchiyama Natsuko Iwasaki [ja]
Websites
JSA profile page

Early life and apprenticeship

Kitajima was born in Tokyo on January 1, 1966.^[1] He entered the Japan Shogi Association's apprentice school in November 1980 at the rank 6-kyū as a student of shogi professional Shigeru Sekine [ja]. He was promoted to the rank of 1-dan in 1983 and obtained full professional status and the rank of 4-dan in April 1995.^[2]

Shogi professional

Promotion history

Kitajima's promotion history is as follows:^[3]

• 6-kyū: 1980
• 1-dan: 1983
• 4-dan: April 1, 1995
• 5-dan: June 3, 1999
• 6-dan: October 1, 2003
• 7-dan: August 14, 2014

JSA director

Tadajima is a former member of the Japan Shogi Association's board of directors, having served as a director from 2002 to 2004 and then again from 2011 to 2013.^[2][4][5]