Kioh (棋王 Kiō) is one of the seven title tournaments in Japanese professional shogi ("Japanese chess"). The word means the king of shogi (ki(棋) = shogi, ō(王) = king).
The tournament started in 1974 and was promoted to a title tournament in 1975. The championship match is held from February to March. The challenger for the Kioh 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 Kioh titleholder.
Lifetime (Eisei) Kioh 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. In 1995 (the 20th Kioh Match), Yoshiharu Habu won his fifth Kioh title in a row, thus becoming the first professional to qualify for the title. To date, Habu is still the only professional to have accomplished this feat.
The following table shows a list of past winners.
| No. | Year | Winner | Score | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1976 | Nobuyuki Ouchi | (League) | |
| 2 | 1977 | Hifumi Kato | 3-0 | Nobuyuki Ouchi |
| 3 | 1978 | Hifumi Kato | 3-0 | Makoto Nakahara |
| 4 | 1979 | Kunio Yonenaga | 3-2 | Hifumi Kato |
| 5 | 1980 | Makoto Nakahara | 3-1 | Kunio Yonenaga |
| 6 | 1981 | Kunio Yonenaga | 3-1 | Makoto Nakahara |
| 7 | 1982 | Kunio Yonenaga | 3-2 | Hidemitsu Moriyasu |
| 8 | 1983 | Kunio Yonenaga | 3-0 | Yasuharu Oyama |
| 9 | 1984 | Kunio Yonenaga | 3-1 | Hidemitsu Moriyasu |
| 10 | 1985 | Kiyozumi Kiriyama | 3-1 | Kunio Yonenaga |
| 11 | 1986 | Koji Tanigawa | 3-0 | Kiyozumi Kiriyama |
| 12 | 1987 | Michio Takahashi | 3-1 | Koji Tanigawa |
| 13 | 1988 | Koji Tanigawa | 3-2 | Michio Takahashi |
| 14 | 1989 | Yoshikazu Minami | 3-2 | Koji Tanigawa |
| 15 | 1990 | Yoshikazu Minami | 3-0 | Yasuharu Oyama |
| 16 | 1991 | Yoshiharu Habu | 3-1 | Yoshikazu Minami |
| 17 | 1992 | Yoshiharu Habu | 3-1 | Yoshikazu Minami |
| 18 | 1993 | Yoshiharu Habu | 3-2 | Koji Tanigawa |
| 19 | 1994 | Yoshiharu Habu | 3-0 | Yoshikazu Minami |
| 20 | 1995 | Yoshiharu Habu | 3-0 | Taku Morishita |
| 21 | 1996 | Yoshiharu Habu | 3-0 | Michio Takahashi |
| 22 | 1997 | Yoshiharu Habu | 3-0 | Taku Morishita |
| 23 | 1998 | Yoshiharu Habu | 3-1 | Masataka Goda |
| 24 | 1999 | Yoshiharu Habu | 3-0 | Yasumitsu Sato |
| 25 | 2000 | Yoshiharu Habu | 3-1 | Toshiyuki Moriuchi |
| 26 | 2001 | Yoshiharu Habu | 3-1 | Toshiaki Kubo |
| 27 | 2002 | Yoshiharu Habu | 3-1 | Yasumitsu Sato |
| 28 | 2003 | Tadahisa Maruyama | 3-2 | Yoshiharu Habu |
| 29 | 2004 | Koji Tanigawa | 3-1 | Tadahisa Maruyama |
| 30 | 2005 | Yoshiharu Habu | 3-0 | Koji Tanigawa |
| 31 | 2006 | Toshiyuki Moriuchi | 3-1 | Yoshiharu Habu |
| 32 | 2007 | Yasumitsu Sato | 3-2 | Toshiyuki Moriuchi |
| 33 | 2008 | Yasumitsu Sato | 3-2 | Yoshiharu Habu |
| 34 | 2009 | Toshiaki Kubo | 3-2 | Yasumitsu Sato |
| 35 | 2010 | Toshiaki Kubo | 3-2 | Yasumitsu Sato |
| 36 | 2011 | Toshiaki Kubo | 3-1 | Akira Watanabe |
| 37 | 2012 | Masataka Goda | 3-1 | Toshiaki Kubo |
| 38 | 2013 | Akira Watanabe | 3-1 | Masataka Goda |
| 39 | 2014 | Akira Watanabe | 3-0 | Hiroyuki Miura |
| 40 | 2015 | Akira Watanabe | 3-0 | Yoshiharu Habu |