, also known by her

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

, is a writer,

manga artist A manga artist, also known as a mangaka (), is a Cartoonist, comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist before entering the indus ...

and former women's professional shogi player who won several women's professional titles during her career. She has written two novel series, ''Tondemo Police'' and ''Kiss Dakeja Iya'', and the

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

'' Shion no Ō''.

Early life

Hayashiba was born on January 24, 1968, and is from

Fukuoka is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. ...

. She won the Women's Amateur Meijin tournament in 1979 when she was 11 years old.

Women's shogi professional

Hayashiba defeated

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 ...

in a 1991 game using the rare Sleeve Rook opening as Black, which made her the first female professional to defeat a male in a tournament game. Her victory, however, is considered to be an "unofficial" because the Ginga Tournament did not become an official tournament until 2000. She had the record for the highest yearly winning rate of 0.852 (23 wins out of 27) in 1989 until it was surpassed by

Ichiyo Shimizu is a Japanese women's professional shogi player ranked 7- dan. In May 2017, Shimizu became the first woman to be elected as an executive director to the Japan Shogi Association's board of directors. In June 2025, she became the first woman to b ...

in 1993 (0.897) and the record winning streak of 17 games in a row in 1982 until it was beaten by Hiroe Nakai in 2010 (19 games) and

Kana Satomi is a Japanese women's professional shogi player ranked 6- dan. She is the current holder of the Women's Meijin, , , , and titles. She is also the career leader in women's professional shogi major titles. Satomi is also the first female to h ...

in 2015 (21 games). Hayashiba quit professional shogi due to a sex scandal with another professional player,

Makoto Nakahara is a Japanese retired professional shogi player who achieved the rank of 9- dan. He was one of the strongest shogi players of the Shōwa period Shōwa most commonly refers to: * Hirohito (1901–1989), the 124th Emperor of Japan, known posthum ...

, in 1995. In 2010, however, she returned to shogi after a 15-year absence, but retired yet again shorty thereafter.

Promotion history

Titles and other championships

Hayashiba won a total of 15 titles in her career. She won the Women's Meijin title 4 times, the title 10 times, and the 1 time. When she was 15 years old, she became the youngest to win the Women's Meijin and the first as well as youngest to win two titles (2 ''crowns'') at the same time. Since she won the Women's Ōshō title more than 5 times, she was the first to qualify for the Lifetime Women's Ōshō (Queen Ōshō) title in 1985. However, since she left the instead of retiring via normal channels, she was not given the title. She won the once in 1989.

Awards and honors

Hayashiba has received a number of

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 ...

Annual Shogi Awards The Annual Shogi Awards (将棋大賞 ''shōgi taishō'') are a number of prizes awarded yearly by the Japan Shogi Association to professional and amateur shogi players who have achieved particular success. The first Annual Shogi Awards were pre ...

in recognition of her accomplishments in shogi.

Annual shogi awards

* 10th Annual Awards (April 1982March 1983): Women's Professional Award * 11th Annual Awards (April 1983March 1984): Women's Professional Award * 12th Annual Awards (April 1984March 1985): Women's Professional Award * 14th Annual Awards (April 1986March 1987): Women's Professional Award * 17th Annual Awards (April 1989March 1990): Women's Professional Award * 18th Annual Awards (April 1980March 1991): Women's Professional Award

References

External links

林葉の振飛車 part1
· blog post about Hayashiba's shogi strategies {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayashiba, Naoko 1968 births 20th-century Japanese novelists 21st-century Japanese novelists Light novelists Writers from Fukuoka (city) Professional shogi players from Fukuoka Prefecture Japanese shogi players Living people Female shogi players Japanese actresses Japanese women television personalities 20th-century Japanese businesspeople Manga writers Japanese female comics writers People from Fukuoka Women's Meijin Women's Ōshō Kurashiki Tōka Cup 21st-century pseudonymous writers Pseudonymous women writers