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First Foreign Female Pro Shōgi Player Inspired by Naruto

On February 20, Karolina Styczynska of Warsaw, Poland, attained the second kyū (rank) in women's shōgi, a chess-like board game primarily played in Japan. This officially makes her a professional player — the first time a foreign woman has done this. She managed a come-from-behind victory against Minami Sadamasu, a more advanced first-dan (level, considered higher than kyū) player, at the 44th Women's Meijin tournament in Shibuya, Tokyo.

Styczynska first learned about shōgi from the Naruto manga (at one point Asuma teaches Shikamaru how to play it to improve his strategic thinking). Her curiosity piqued, she did some research online, and soon became engrossed in learning how to play. Without anyone to play against nearby, she turned to the shōgi site 81Dojo and honed her skills in virtual matches. Her big break came when she played against professional Madoka Kitao, who was so impressed with her ability that she invited her to come to Japan in 2011. “It's amazing that she's got this strong mostly through self-learning and online playing experiences,” Kitao said. Styczynska ended up moving to Japan in 2013 and is now a graduate student at Yamanashi Gakuin University in Kōfu.

While martial arts like jūdō and sumō, along with go, another board game, have become popular overseas, shōgi remains a distinctly Japanese pursuit. But Tomohide Kawasaki, a shōgi player living in Germany, started the 81Dojo site to bring more international players into the game. He also filmed a video explaining the game, which helped introduce Styczynska to it. “There are strong players in countries like France and Greece, too,” Kitao says. “It's refreshing to think of young Europeans being absorbed in shogi while connected with each other online.” Until then, there are always shōgi-related anime like March comes in like a lion and Shion no Oh to teach foreigners the ropes.

Sources: Nikkei Asian Review, The Japan Times and Asahi Shimbun: Shin'ya Murase; Image by Shogiru (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons