is one of the eight major title tournaments in professional shogi. The word means the "king of the board" (i.e. it is a combination of the kanji characters for and).
The tournament started in 1974 as a continuation of the held from 1961 to 1973, which itself was a continuation of the held from 1954 to 1956 and its successor the (held from 1957 to 1960. The Kiō tournament was promoted to a major title tournament in 1975. The championship match is held from February to March. The challenger for the Kiō title is determined by the first and second preliminary rounds. In the second round, the losers in the semi-finals and final play consolation games, then the winners of the final and consolation-final advance to a two-game playoff. The winner of the consolation games has to win both games to become the challenger while the winner of the final has to win only one of the two games. The first player to win three games in the championship becomes the new Kiō titleholder.[1]
Lifetime (Eisei) Kiō is the title given to a player who won the championship five times in a row. Active players may qualify for this title, but it is only officially awarded upon their retirement or death.[2] In 1995 (the 20th Kiō Match), Yoshiharu Habu won his fifth Kiō title in a row, thus becoming the first professional to qualify for the title. In 2017, Akira Watanabe won his fifth title in a row to join Habu as the only professionals to have accomplished this feat.[3]
The following table shows a list of past winners.[4]
| No. | Year | Winner | Score | Opponent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1975 | Nobuyuki Ōuchi | (League) | ||
| 2 | 1976 | Hifumi Katō | 3-0 | Nobuyuki Ōuchi | |
| 3 | 1977 | Hifumi Katō (2) | 3-0 | Makoto Nakahara | |
| 4 | 1978 | Kunio Yonenaga | 3-2 | Hifumi Katō | |
| 5 | 1979 | Makoto Nakahara | 3-1 | Kunio Yonenaga | |
| 6 | 1980 | Kunio Yonenaga (2) | 3-1 | Makoto Nakahara | |
| 7 | 1981 | Kunio Yonenaga (3) | 3-2 | Hidemitsu Moriyasu | |
| 8 | 1982 | Kunio Yonenaga (4) | 3-0 | Yasuharu Oyama | |
| 9 | 1983 | Kunio Yonenaga (5) | 3-1 | Hidemitsu Moriyasu | |
| 10 | 1984 | Kiyozumi Kiriyama | 3-1 | Kunio Yonenaga | |
| 11 | 1985 | Kōji Tanigawa | 3-0 | Kiyozumi Kiriyama | |
| 12 | 1986 | Michio Takahashi | 3-1 | Kōji Tanigawa | |
| 13 | 1987 | Koji Tanigawa (2) | 3-2 | Michio Takahashi | |
| 14 | 1988 | Yoshikazu Minami | 3-2 | Kōji Tanigawa | |
| 15 | 1989 | Yoshikazu Minami (2) | 3-0 | Yasuharu Oyama | |
| 16 | 1990 | Yoshiharu Habu | 3-1 | Yoshikazu Minami | |
| 17 | 1991 | Yoshiharu Habu (2) | 3-1 | Yoshikazu Minami | |
| 18 | 1992 | Yoshiharu Habu (3) | 3-2 | Kōji Tanigawa | |
| 19 | 1993 | Yoshiharu Habu (4) | 3-0 | Yoshikazu Minami | |
| 20 | 1994 | Yoshiharu Habu (5) | 3-0 | Taku Morishita | |
| 21 | 1995 | Yoshiharu Habu (6) | 3-0 | Michio Takahashi | |
| 22 | 1996 | Yoshiharu Habu (7) | 3-0 | Taku Morishita | |
| 23 | 1997 | Yoshiharu Habu (8) | 3-1 | Masataka Gōda | |
| 24 | 1998 | Yoshiharu Habu (9) | 3-0 | Yasumitsu Sato | |
| 25 | 1999 | Yoshiharu Habu (10) | 3-1 | Toshiyuki Moriuchi | |
| 26 | 2000 | Yoshiharu Habu (11) | 3-1 | Toshiaki Kubo | |
| 27 | 2001 | Yoshiharu Habu (12) | 3-1 | Yasumitsu Sato | |
| 28 | 2002 | Tadahisa Maruyama | 3-2 | Yoshiharu Habu | |
| 29 | 2003 | Kōji Tanigawa (3) | 3-1 | Tadahisa Maruyama | |
| 30 | 2004 | Yoshiharu Habu (13) | 3-0 | Kōji Tanigawa | |
| 31 | 2005 | Toshiyuki Moriuchi | 3-1 | Yoshiharu Habu | |
| 32 | 2006 | Yasumitsu Sato | 3-2 | Toshiyuki Moriuchi | |
| 33 | 2007 | Yasumitsu Sato (2) | 3-2 | Yoshiharu Habu | |
| 34 | 2008 | Toshiaki Kubo | 3-2 | Yasumitsu Sato | |
| 35[5] | 2009 | Toshiaki Kubo (2) | 3-2 | Yasumitsu Sato | |
| 36[6] | 2010 | Toshiaki Kubo (3) | 3-1 | Akira Watanabe | |
| 37[7] | 2011 | Masataka Gōda | 3-1 | Toshiaki Kubo | |
| 38[8] | 2012 | Akira Watanabe | 3-1 | Masataka Gōda | |
| 39[9] | 2013 | Akira Watanabe (2) | 3-0 | Hiroyuki Miura | |
| 40[10] | 2014 | Akira Watanabe (3) | 3-0 | Yoshiharu Habu | |
| 41[11] | 2015 | Akira Watanabe (4) | 3-1 | Amahiko Satō | |
| 42[12] | 2016 | Akira Watanabe (5) | 3-2 | Shōta Chida | |
| 43[13] | 2017 | Akira Watanabe (6) | 3-2 | Takuya Nagase | |
| 44[14] | 2018 | Akira Watanabe (7) | 3-1 | Akihito Hirose | |
| 45[15] | 2019 | Akira Watanabe (8) | 3-1 | Kei Honda | |
| 46[16] | 2020 | Akira Watanabe (9) | 3-1 | Tetsurō Itodani | |
| 47[17] | 2021 | Akira Watanabe (10) | 3-1 | Takuya Nagase | |
| 48[18] | 2022 | Sōta Fujii | 3-1 | Akira Watanabe | |
| 48[19] | 2023 | Sōta Fujii (2) | 3-0 | Takumi Itō |