is one of the eight titles in Japanese professional shogi.
The word literally means "king's seat", i.e., "throne". The tournament started in 1953 as a knockout tournament with three games in the final match and was a non-title tournament up until 1982.[1] The challenger for the title is determined through three preliminary rounds. The player that wins three games out of five in the championship match becomes the new Ōza title holder.[2]
The tournament is sponsored by Nikkei, Inc. (日本経済新聞社 nihon keizai shinbunsha), a newspaper conglomerate that publishes The Nikkei and the Nikkei 225 stock market index. The current Ōza title holder is Sōta Fujii.
is the title given to a player who won the championship five times in a row or ten times in total. Active players may qualify for this title, but it is only officially awarded upon their reaching the age of 60 years, retirement or death.[3]
From 1953 until 1982, the tournament was just regular tournament and not a major title match. From 1953 to 1969, two finalists would play a 3-game match to determine the overall winner; the 1st Oza match (1953), however, was only a single game. From 1970 to 1982, the winner of the previous year's tournament would play the winner of a qualifying tournament in a 3-game match.[6]
| No. | Year | Winner | Score | Opponent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1953 | Yasuharu Ōyama | 10 | Yūzō Maruta | |
| 2 | 1954 | Yasuharu Ōyama | 21 | Kōzō Masuda | |
| 3 | 1955 | Yasuharu Ōyama | 21 | Renshō Nada | |
| 4 | 1956 | Seiichi Kobori | 21 | Kazukiyo Takashima | |
| 5 | 1957 | Shigeyuki Matsuda | 21 | Seiichi Kobori | |
| 6 | 1958 | Masao Tsukada | 21 | Tatsuya Futakami | |
| 7 | 1959 | Yasuharu Ōyama | 20 | Michiyoshi Yamada | |
| 8 | 1960 | Yūzō Maruta | 21 | Yasuharu Ōyama | |
| 9 | 1961 | Sōetsu Honma | 20 | Hifumi Katō | |
| 10 | 1962 | Hifumi Katō | 20 | Michihito Kumagai | |
| 11 | 1963 | Renshō Nada | 21 | Hirobumi Sekizawa | |
| 12 | 1964 | Yasuharu Ōyama | 20 | Hifumi Katō | |
| 13 | 1965 | Yūzō Maruta | 20 | Kunio Naitō | |
| 14 | 1966 | Yasuharu Ōyama | 20 | Yūzō Maruta | |
| 15 | 1967 | Michiyoshi Yamada | 20 | Kunio Naitō | |
| 16 | 1968 | Yasuharu Ōyama | 20 | Hifumi Katō | |
| 17 | 1969 | Makoto Nakahara | 21 | Michio Ariyoshi | |
| 18 | 1970 | Makoto Nakahara | 20 | Tatsuya Futakami | |
| 19 | 1971 | Makoto Nakahara | 20 | Hifumi Katō | |
| 20 | 1972 | Makoto Nakahara | 20 | Kunio Naitō | |
| 21 | 1973 | Makoto Nakahara | 20 | Genichi Ōno | |
| 22 | 1974 | Makoto Nakahara | 21 | Yasuharu Ōyama | |
| 23 | 1975 | Kiyozumi Kiriyama | 20 | Makoto Nakahara | |
| 24 | 1976 | Makoto Nakahara | 20 | Kiyozumi Kiriyama | |
| 25 | 1977 | Makoto Nakahara | 20 | Nobuyuki Ōuchi | |
| 26 | 1978 | Makoto Nakahara | 20 | Nobuyuki Ōuchi | |
| 27 | 1979 | Makoto Nakahara | 20 | Nobuyuki Ōuchi | |
| 28 | 1980 | Yasuharu Ōyama | 20 | Makoto Nakahara | |
| 29 | 1981 | Yasuharu Ōyama | 21 | Osamu Katsuura | |
| 30 | 1982 | Kunio Naitō | 20 | Yasuharu Ōyama |
For the 31st Oza Match (1983), the tournament was officially elevated to major title match status and starting with the 32nd Oza Match, the format switched to a best-of-five.
| No. | Year | Winner | Score | Opponent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | 1983 | Makoto Nakahara | 21 | Kunio Naitō | |
| 32 | 1984 | Makoto Nakahara (2) | 32 | Hidemitsu Moriyasu | |
| 33 | 1985 | Makoto Nakahara (3) | 31 | Kōji Tanigawa | |
| 34 | 1986 | Makoto Nakahara (4) | 30 | Kiyozumi Kiriyama | |
| 35 | 1987 | Yasuaki Tsukada | 32 | Makoto Nakahara | |
| 36 | 1988 | Makoto Nakahara (5) | 30 | Yasuaki Tsukada | |
| 37 | 1989 | Makoto Nakahara (6) | 32 | Teruichi Aono | |
| 38 | 1990 | Kōji Tanigawa | 31 | Makoto Nakahara | |
| 39 | 1991 | Bungo Fukusaki | 32 | Kōji Tanigawa | |
| 40 | 1992 | Yoshiharu Habu | 30 | Bungo Fukusaki | |
| 41 | 1993 | Yoshiharu Habu (2) | 31 | Koji Tanigawa | |
| 42 | 1994 | Yoshiharu Habu (3) | 30 | Kōji Tanigawa | |
| 43 | 1995 | Yoshiharu Habu (4) | 30 | Keiji Mori | |
| 44 | 1996 | Yoshiharu Habu (5) | 30 | Akira Shima | |
| 45 | 1997 | Yoshiharu Habu (6) | 30 | Akira Shima | |
| 46 | 1998 | Yoshiharu Habu (7) | 32 | Kōji Tanigawa | |
| 47 | 1999 | Yoshiharu Habu (8) | 31 | Tadahisa Maruyama | |
| 48 | 2000 | Yoshiharu Habu (9) | 32 | Takeshi Fujii | |
| 49 | 2001 | Yoshiharu Habu (10) | 31 | Toshiaki Kubo | |
| 50 | 2002 | Yoshiharu Habu (11) | 30 | Yasumitsu Satō | |
| 51 | 2003 | Yoshiharu Habu (12) | 32 | Akira Watanabe | |
| 52 | 2004 | Yoshiharu Habu (13) | 31 | Toshiyuki Moriuchi | |
| 53 | 2005 | Yoshiharu Habu (14) | 30 | Yasumitsu Satō | |
| 54 | 2006 | Yoshiharu Habu (15) | 30 | Yasumitsu Satō | |
| 55 | 2007 | Yoshiharu Habu (16) | 30 | Toshiaki Kubo | |
| 56 | 2008 | Yoshiharu Habu (17) | 30 | Kazuki Kimura | |
| 57 | 2009 | Yoshiharu Habu (18) | 30 | Takayuki Yamasaki | |
| 58 | 2010 | Yoshiharu Habu (19) | 30 | Takeshi Fujii | |
| 59 | 2011 | Akira Watanabe | 30 | Yoshiharu Habu | |
| 60 | 2012 | Yoshiharu Habu (20) | 31 | Akira Watanabe | |
| 61 | 2013 | Yoshiharu Habu (21) | 32[7] | Taichi Nakamura | |
| 62 | 2014 | Yoshiharu Habu (22) | 32[8] | Masayuki Toyoshima | |
| 63 | 2015 | Yoshiharu Habu (23) | 32[9] | Amahiko Satō | |
| 64 | 2016 | Yoshiharu Habu (24) | 30[10] | Tetsuro Itodani | |
| 65 | 2017 | Taichi Nakamura | 31[11] | Yoshiharu Habu | |
| 66 | 2018 | Shintarō Saitō | 32[12] | Taichi Nakamura (shogi) | Taichi Nakamura |
| 67 | 2019 | Takuya Nagase | 30[13] | Shintarō Saitō | |
| 68 | 2020 | Takuya Nagase (2) | 32[14] | Toshiaki Kubo | |
| 69 | 2021 | Takuya Nagase (3) | 31[15] | Kazuki Kimura | |
| 70 | 2022 | Takuya Nagase (4) | 31[16] | Masayuki Toyoshima | |
| 71 | 2023 | Sōta Fujii | 31[17] | Takuya Nagase |