was a Japanese

professional shogi player A professional shogi player (将棋棋士 ''shōgi kishi'' or プロ棋士 ''puro kishi'' "professional player") is a shogi player who is usually a member of a professional guild of shogi players. There are two categories of professional playe ...

who achieved the rank of 9- dan. He is a former

Meijin is one of the eight titles in Japanese professional shogi player, professional shogi, and is the most prestigious title, along with Ryūō. The word ( "excellent, artful", "person") refers to a highly skilled master of a certain field (the ...

who was known for playing very creative shogi. For instance, top player

Yoshiharu Habu is a professional shogi player and a chess FIDE Master. He is a former holder of the Ryūō, Meijin, Ōi, Ōza, Kiō, Ōshō and Kisei major titles. He was the first person to simultaneously hold seven major professional shogi titles ...

considered Masuda's playing style to be 30 years ahead of its time and the origin of the modern way to play shogi.

Life

Kōzō Masuda Award

Each year since 1995 the

Japan Shogi Association The , or JSA, is the primary organizing body for professional shogi in Japan. The JSA sets the professional calendar, negotiates sponsorship and media promotion deals, helps organize tournaments and title matches, publishes shogi-related materia ...

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. 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: *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 twice (1957–58). Overall, Masuda won a major title seven times and appeared in a major title match twenty-three times during his career. In addition to major titles, Masuda won the NHK Shogi Cup three times (1952, 1957 and 1963) and other shogi tournaments four times.

Awards and honors

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

SCAP Incident

In 1947, during the

Allied occupation of Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the Allies of World War II from the surrender of the Empire of Japan on September 2, 1945, at the war's end until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect on April 28, 1952. The occupation, led by the ...

, Masuda was summoned by the office of the

Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers The Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (), or SCAP, was the title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the United States-led Allied occupation of Japan following World War II. It issued SCAP Directives (alias SCAPIN, SCAP Index Number) ...

(

metonym Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something associated with that thing or concept. For example, the word "wikt:suit, suit" may refer to a person from groups commonly wearing business attire, such ...

ically 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 Japanese culture has changed greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period, to its contemporary modern culture, which absorbs influences from Asia and other regions of the world. Since the Jomon period, ancestral ...

, saw shogi as depicting

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

abuse: "In contrast with chess, in shogi, captured pieces may be used by the player that captures them; this constitutes POW abuse.", 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." 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'?"Original from ja.wikipedia: チェスは王様が危なくなると女王様まで楯にして逃げようとする。これはあなた方の民主主義やレディーファーストに反する行為ではないか Masuda impressed his interviewers, and his remarks are said to have influenced SCAP's decision to not ban shogi.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Masuda, Kozo Japanese shogi players Japan Shogi Association players Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon Professional shogi players from Hiroshima Prefecture Meijin (shogi) Ōshō 1918 births 1991 deaths Ninth Dan NHK Cup (shogi)