| Kisei | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Kisei |
| Started | 1976 |
| Honorary Winners | Hideyuki Fujisawa Koichi Kobayashi |
| Sponsors | Yomiuri Shimbun |
| Prize money | ¥45 million $557,000 (as of 29 June 2011) |
| Affiliation | Nihon Ki-in |
Kisei (棋聖) is an honorary title and go competition. The title, meaning Go Sage in Japanese, was a traditional honorary appellation given to a handful of players down the centuries. The element ki can also apply to shogi, and there were also recognized kisei in the shogi world.
Kisei is a Go competition organised by the Japanese Nihon Ki-in. The competition began in 1976 by the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper and is currently the highest paying competition in Japanese professional Go, paying ¥45,000,000 (approx. $557,000 as of 29 June 2011) to the winner in 2011. The word Kisei is Japanese for "Go Sage", which is why before the Kisei tournament began, the only players who were given the title "Kisei" were Dōsaku and Hon′inbō Shūsaku.
The holder is challenged by whoever wins the round robin league. Players can get into the round robin league by going through many preliminary tournaments. Once there is a challenger to compete against the holder, the winner is decided through a best of seven match. The games are played over two days and each player is given eight hours of thinking time. If a player qualifies for the Kisei league, they are automatically promoted to 7 dan. If that same player wins the league, a promotion to 8 dan is given. If that same player goes on to winning the title, they are promoted to 9 dan, the highest rank.
| Year | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Hideyuki Fujisawa | 4-1 | Utaro Hashimoto |
| 1978 | Hideyuki Fujisawa | 4-3 | Masao Kato |
| 1979 | Hideyuki Fujisawa | 4-1 | Yoshio Ishida |
| 1980 | Hideyuki Fujisawa | 4-1 | Rin Kaiho |
| 1981 | Hideyuki Fujisawa | 4-0 | Hideo Otake |
| 1982 | Hideyuki Fujisawa | 4-3 | Rin Kaiho |
| 1983 | Cho Chikun | 4-3 | Hideyuki Fujisawa |
| 1984 | Cho Chikun | 4-2 | Rin Kaiho |
| 1985 | Cho Chikun | 4-3 | Masaki Takemiya |
| 1986 | Koichi Kobayashi | 4-2 | Cho Chikun |
| 1987 | Koichi Kobayashi | 4-1 | Masaki Takemiya |
| 1988 | Koichi Kobayashi | 4-1 | Masao Kato |
| 1989 | Koichi Kobayashi | 4-1 | Masaki Takemiya |
| 1990 | Koichi Kobayashi | 4-1 | Hideo Otake |
| 1991 | Koichi Kobayashi | 4-3 | Masao Kato |
| 1992 | Koichi Kobayashi | 4-3 | Hiroshi Yamashiro |
| 1993 | Koichi Kobayashi | 4-3 | Masao Kato |
| 1994 | Cho Chikun | 4-2 | Koichi Kobayashi |
| 1995 | Satoru Kobayashi | 4-2 | Cho Chikun |
| 1996 | Cho Chikun | 4-3 | Satoru Kobayashi |
| 1997 | Cho Chikun | 4-1 | Satoru Kobayashi |
| 1998 | Cho Chikun | 4-2 | Norimoto Yoda |
| 1999 | Cho Chikun | 4-2 | Koichi Kobayashi |
| 2000 | O Rissei | 4-2 | Cho Chikun |
| 2001 | O Rissei | 4-2 | Cho Sonjin |
| 2002 | O Rissei | 4-2 | Ryu Shikun |
| 2003 | Keigo Yamashita | 4-1 | O Rissei |
| 2004 | Naoki Hane | 4-3 | Keigo Yamashita |
| 2005 | Naoki Hane | 4-3 | Satoshi Yuki |
| 2006 | Keigo Yamashita | 4-0 | Naoki Hane |
| 2007 | Keigo Yamashita | 4-0 | Satoru Kobayashi |
| 2008 | Keigo Yamashita | 4-3 | Cho Chikun |
| 2009 | Keigo Yamashita | 4-2 | Norimoto Yoda |
| 2010 | Cho U | 4-1 | Keigo Yamashita |
| 2011 | Cho U | 4-2 | Yuta Iyama |
| 2012 | Cho U | 4-3 | Shinji Takao |
| 2013 | Yuta Iyama | 4-2 | Cho U |
| 2014 | Yuta Iyama | 4-2 | Keigo Yamashita |
| 2015 | Yuta Iyama | 4-3 | Keigo Yamashita |