Naoko Hayashiba


Naoko Hayashiba, also known by her pen name Masaru Katori, is a writer, manga artist and former women's professional shogi player who won several women's professional titles during her career. She has written two novel series, Tondemo Police and Kiss Dakeja Iya, and the manga Shion no Ō.

Early life

Hayashiba was born on January 24, 1968, and is from Fukuoka. She won the Women's Amateur Meijin tournament in 1979 when she was 11 years old.

Women's shogi professional

Hayashiba defeated professional shogi player in a 1991 game using the rare Sleeve Rook opening as Black, which made her the first female professional to defeat a male in a tournament game. Her victory, however, is considered to be an "unofficial" because the Ginga Tournament did not become an official tournament until 2000.
She had the record for the highest yearly winning rate of 0.852 in 1989 until it was surpassed by Ichiyo Shimizu in 1993 and the record winning streak of 17 games in a row in 1982 until it was beaten by Hiroe Nakai in 2010 and Kana Satomi in 2015.
Hayashiba quit professional shogi due to a sex scandal with another professional player, Makoto Nakahara, in 1995. In 2010, however, she returned to shogi after a 15-year absence, but retired yet again shorty thereafter.

Titles and other championships

Hayashiba won a total of 15 titles in her career. She won the Women's Meijin title 4 times, the title 10 times, and the 1 time. When she was 15 years old, she became the youngest to win the Women's Meijin and the first as well as youngest to win two titles at the same time.
Since she won the Women's Ōshō title more than 5 times, she was the first to qualify for the Lifetime Women's Ōshō title in 1985. However, since she left the instead of retiring via normal channels, she was not given the title.
She won the once in 1989.

Awards and honors

Hayashiba has received a number of Japan Shogi Association Annual Shogi Awards in recognition of her accomplishments in shogi.

Annual shogi awards

  • 10th Annual Awards : Women's Professional Award
  • 11th Annual Awards : Women's Professional Award
  • 12th Annual Awards : Women's Professional Award
  • 14th Annual Awards : Women's Professional Award
  • 17th Annual Awards : Women's Professional Award
  • 18th Annual Awards : Women's Professional Award