Kisei (棋聖) is one of the seven titles in Japanese professional shogi.
The word "Kisei" means an excellent player of shogi or Go. ("ki"(棋) = shogi or Go, "sei"(聖) = an excellent person)
Kisei tournament started in 1962. Until the year 1994, it was held twice a year.
The challenger for Kisei title holder is determined by 1st, 2nd and final preliminary round.
The player that wins three games out of five first in the championship will become the new Kisei title holder.
The "Lifetime Kisei" (永世棋聖 eisei kisei) title is awarded to a player who has won Kisei Championship five times. Active players may qualify for this title, but it is only officially awarded upon their retirement or death. The following professionals have qualified for this title: Yasuharu Oyama (deceased), Makoto Nakahara (retired), Kunio Yonenaga (deceased), Yoshiharu Habu (active) and Yasumitsu Satoh (active).
| No. | Year | Winner | Score | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1962 | Yasuharu Oyama | 3-1 | Masao Tsukada |
| 2 | 1963 first | Yasuharu Oyama | 3-0 | Tatsuya Futakami |
| 3 | 1963 second | Yasuharu Oyama | 3-1 | Kozoh Masuda |
| 4 | 1964 first | Yasuharu Oyama | 3-2 | Shigeru Sekine |
| 5 | 1964 second | Yasuharu Oyama | 3-0 | So-etsu Homma |
| 6 | 1965 first | Yasuharu Oyama | 3-2 | Kozoh Masuda |
| 7 | 1965 second | Yasuharu Oyama | 3-2 | Tatsuya Futakami |
| 8 | 1966 first | Tatsuya Futakami | 3-1 | Yasuharu Oyama |
| 9 | 1966 second | Yasuharu Oyama | 3-0 | Tatsuya Futakami |
| 10 | 1967 first | Michiyoshi Yamada | 3-1 | Yasuharu Oyama |
| 11 | 1967 second | Michiyoshi Yamada | 3-2 | Makoto Nakahara |
| 12 | 1968 first | Makoto Nakahara | 3-1 | Michiyoshi Yamada |
| 13 | 1968 second | Makoto Nakahara | 3-1 | Yasuharu Oyama |
| 14 | 1969 first | Makoto Nakahara | 3-0 | Michiyoshi Yamada |
| 15 | 1969 second | Kunio Naitoh | 3-1 | Makoto Nakahara |
| 16 | 1970 first | Yasuharu Oyama | 3-1 | Kunio Naitoh |
| 17 | 1970 second | Makoto Nakahara | 3-0 | Yasuharu Oyama |
| 18 | 1971 first | Makoto Nakahara | 3-1 | Yasuharu Oyama |
| 19 | 1971 second | Makoto Nakahara | 3-1 | Tatsuya Futakami |
| 20 | 1972 first | Makoto Nakahara | 3-1 | Kunio Naitoh |
| 21 | 1972 second | Michio Ariyoshi | 3-2 | Makoto Nakahara |
| 22 | 1973 first | Kunio Yonenaga | 3-1 | Michio Ariyoshi |
| 23 | 1973 second | Kunio Naitoh | 3-2 | Kunio Yonenaga |
| 24 | 1974 first | Yasuharu Oyama | 3-1 | Kunio Naitoh |
| 25 | 1974 second | Yasuharu Oyama | 3-0 | Kunio Yonenaga |
| 26 | 1975 first | Yasuharu Oyama | 3-1 | Tatsuya Futakami |
| 27 | 1975 second | Yasuharu Oyama | 3-0 | Tatsuya Futakami |
| 28 | 1976 first | Yasuharu Oyama | 3-1 | Kiyozumi Kiriyama |
| 29 | 1976 second | Yasuharu Oyama | 3-2 | Kunio Yonenaga |
| 30 | 1977 first | Yasuharu Oyama | 3-1 | Keiji Mori |
| 31 | 1977 second | Makoto Nakahara | 3-2 | Yasuharu Oyama |
| 32 | 1978 first | Makoto Nakahara | 3-0 | Michio Ariyoshi |
| 33 | 1978 second | Makoto Nakahara | 3-1 | Tatsuya Futakami |
| 34 | 1979 first | Makoto Nakahara | 3-1 | Hifumi Katoh |
| 35 | 1979 second | Makoto Nakahara | 3-0 | Hitoshige Awaji |
| 36 | 1980 first | Kunio Yonenaga | 3-1 | Makoto Nakahara |
| 37 | 1980 second | Tatsuya Futakami | 3-1 | Kunio Yonenaga |
| 38 | 1981 first | Tatsuya Futakami | 3-0 | Makoto Nakahara |
| 39 | 1981 second | Tatsuya Futakami | 3-0 | Hifumi Katoh |
| 40 | 1982 first | Keiji Mori | 3-0 | Tatsuya Futakami |
| 41 | 1982 second | Makoto Nakahara | 3-1 | Keiji Mori |
| 42 | 1983 first | Hidemitsu Moriyasu | 3-2 | Makoto Nakahara |
| 43 | 1983 second | Kunio Yonenaga | 3-1 | Hidemitsu Moriyasu |
| 44 | 1984 first | Kunio Yonenaga | 3-0 | Koji Tanigawa |
| 45 | 1984 second | Kunio Yonenaga | 3-2 | Osamu Nakamura |
| 46 | 1985 first | Kunio Yonenaga | 3-1 | Osamu Katsuura |
| 47 | 1985 second | Kunio Yonenaga | 3-0 | Osamu Nakamura |
| 48 | 1986 first | Kiyozumi Kiriyama | 3-1 | Kunio Yonenaga |
| 49 | 1986 second | Kiyozumi Kiriyama | 3-1 | Yoshikazu Minami |
| 50 | 1987 first | Kiyozumi Kiriyama | 3-0 | Kazuyoshi Nishimura |
| 51 | 1987 second | Yoshikazu Minami | 3-0 | Kiyozumi Kiriyama |
| 52 | 1988 first | Torahiko Tanaka | 3-2 | Yoshikazu Minami |
| 53 | 1988 second | Makoto Nakahara | 3-2 | Torahiko Tanaka |
| 54 | 1989 first | Makoto Nakahara | 3-1 | Yoshikazu Minami |
| 55 | 1989 second | Makoto Nakahara | 3-2 | Nobuyuki Yashiki |
| 56 | 1990 first | Nobuyuki Yashiki | 3-2 | Makoto Nakahara |
| 57 | 1990 second | Nobuyuki Yashiki | 3-1 | Taku Morishita |
| 58 | 1991 first | Yoshikazu Minami | 3-2 | Nobuyuki Yashiki |
| 59 | 1991 second | Koji Tanigawa | 3-0 | Yoshikazu Minami |
| 60 | 1992 first | Koji Tanigawa | 3-1 | Masataka Goda |
| 61 | 1992 second | Koji Tanigawa | 3-0 | Masataka Goda |
| 62 | 1993 first | Yoshiharu Habu | 3-1 | Koji Tanigawa |
| 63 | 1993 second | Yoshiharu Habu | 3-2 | Koji Tanigawa |
| 64 | 1994 first | Yoshiharu Habu | 3-1 | Koji Tanigawa |
| 65 | 1994 second | Yoshiharu Habu | 3-0 | Akira Shima |
| 66 | 1995 | Yoshiharu Habu | 3-0 | Hiroyuki Miura |
| 67 | 1996 | Hiroyuki Miura | 3-2 | Yoshiharu Habu |
| 68 | 1997 | Nobuyuki Yashiki | 3-1 | Miura Hiroyuki |
| 69 | 1998 | Masataka Goda | 3-0 | Nobuyuki Yashiki |
| 70 | 1999 | Koji Tanigawa | 3-0 | Masataka Goda |
| 71 | 2000 | Yoshiharu Habu | 3-2 | Koji Tanigawa |
| 72 | 2001 | Masataka Goda | 3-2 | Yoshiharu Habu |
| 73 | 2002 | Yasumitsu Satoh | 3-2 | Masataka Goda |
| 74 | 2003 | Yasumitsu Satoh | 3-0 | Tadahisa Maruyama |
| 75 | 2004 | Yasumitsu Satoh | 3-0 | Toshiyuki Moriuchi |
| 76 | 2005 | Yasumitsu Satoh | 3-2 | Yoshiharu Habu |
| 77 | 2006 | Yasumitsu Satoh | 3-0 | Daisuke Suzuki |
| 78 | 2007 | Yasumitsu Satoh | 3-1 | Akira Watanabe |
| 79 | 2008 | Yoshiharu Habu | 3-2 | Yasumitsu Satoh |
| 80 | 2009 | Yoshiharu Habu | 3-2 | Kazuki Kimura |
| 81 | 2010 | Yoshiharu Habu | 3-0 | Koichi Fukaura |
| 82 | 2011 | Yoshiharu Habu | 3-0 | Koichi Fukaura |
| 83 | 2012 | Yoshiharu Habu | 3-0 | Taichi Nakamura |
| 84 | 2013 | Yoshiharu Habu | 3-1 | Akira Watanabe |
| 85 | 2014 | Yoshiharu Habu | 3-0 | Toshiyuki Moriuchi |
| 86 | 2015 | Yoshiharu Habu | 3-1 | Masayuki Toyoshima |