Kana Fukuma facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kana Fukuma |
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Satomi at a shogi event in August 2009.
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| Native name | 福間香奈 |
| Maiden name | Satomi (里見) |
| Born | March 2, 1992 |
| Hometown | Izumo, Shimane |
| Career | |
| Achieved professional status | October 1, 2004 (aged 12) |
| Badge Number | W-33 |
| Rank | Women's 6-dan |
| Teacher | Keiji Mori (9-dan) |
| Current titles held |
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| Lifetime titles |
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| Major titles won | 59 |
| Websites | |
| JSA profile page | |
Kana Fukuma (福間 香奈, Fukuma Kana, née Satomi (里見)) born March 2, 1992 is a super talented Japanese women's professional shogi player. Shogi is a bit like chess, but from Japan! She is currently ranked 6-dan. Kana used to be known as Kana Satomi before she got married.
Kana is one of the best women's shogi players ever. She holds many important titles like the Women's Meijin, Women's Ōi, Women's Ōza, Kurashiki Tōka Cup, and Seirei titles. She has won more major shogi titles than any other woman in history! Kana was also the first woman to reach a high training rank (3-dan) in the Japan Shogi Association's special program for future pros. She was also the first woman to try for the main professional player test.
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Kana's Early Life and Shogi Journey
Kana Fukuma was born in Izumo, Shimane, Japan, on March 2, 1992. When she was in fifth grade in 2003, she played in a big student shogi tournament. She made it to the semifinals, showing how good she was even at a young age!
Later in 2003, Kana joined the Japan Shogi Association's training program for women who want to become professional shogi players. Her teacher was a shogi professional named Keiji Mori. In October 2004, she officially became a women's professional with the rank of 2-kyū.
Becoming a Top Women's Shogi Professional
In September 2008, Kana won her first major shogi title, the 16th Kurashiki Tōka Cup. This win also helped her get promoted to women's professional 2-dan. She kept winning this title for several years in a row.
By 2012, when she was just 20 years old, Kana earned the special "Queen Kurashiki Toka" lifetime title. This made her the youngest woman to ever get a lifetime title in shogi! She continued to win many titles over the years.
In February 2019, Kana won her tenth Women's Meijin title in a row. This tied a record for consecutive wins of a women's title.
In June 2019, Kana won back her Women's Ōi title. This was her fifth time winning it, which earned her the "Queen Ōi" lifetime title. This also meant she held five major titles at once, a status called "5-crown title holder."
In September 2019, Kana won the very first Seirei tournament title. This made her the first woman in professional shogi to hold six major titles at the same time, becoming a "6-crown title holder"! However, she soon dropped back to five titles after losing another match.
Kana kept defending her titles and winning new ones. In January 2021, she won her twelfth consecutive Women's Meijin title. This made her the only player to hold the record for most consecutive wins of a women's major title.
In June 2021, she won her 44th major title overall, making her the all-time leader in women's professional shogi major titles! She returned to holding five titles later that year.
In February 2022, Kana lost the Women's Meijin title for the first time since 2009. But she quickly bounced back, winning other titles and even becoming a 5-crown holder again in August 2022.
On October 21, 2022, Kana reached 6-crown status again by winning her 50th major title. She held this status briefly before losing another title. She continued to defend her Kurashiki Tōka Cup and Women's Ōza titles in late 2022.
In 2023, Kana successfully defended her Women's Ōi, Seirei, Kurashiki Tōka Cup, and Women's Ōza titles. She won her seventh Women's Ōza title overall.
In February 2024, after getting married and changing her name to Fukuma, she won back the Women's Meijin title. This was her 13th Women's Meijin title overall. She continued her winning streak in May 2024, defending her Women's Ōi title for the sixth time in a row. In August 2024, she won her fifth Seirei title, earning her the "Queen Seirei" lifetime title.
In late 2024, due to health concerns related to her pregnancy, Kana had to forfeit some games in important title matches. This meant she lost her Hakurei and Women's Ōshō titles.
How Kana Was Promoted
Kana has moved up in rank in shogi like this:
- 2-kyū: October 1, 2004
- 1-kyū: April 1, 2006
- 1-dan: February 22, 2007
- 2-dan: September 29, 2008
- 3-dan: April 1, 2009
- 4-dan: February 10, 2010
- 5-dan: October 18, 2011
- 6-dan: April 1, 2020
These are all ranks for women's professional shogi players.
Kana's Major Shogi Titles
Kana has played in major title matches 75 times and has won an amazing 59 titles! She has won:
- Women's Meijin: 13 times
- Kurashiki Tōka Cup: 14 times
- Women's Ōshō: 8 times
- Women's Ōi: 10 times
- Women's Ōza: 7 times
- Seirei: 5 times
- Jo-Ō and Hakurei: 1 time each
She has also earned special lifetime titles like Queen Meijin, Queen Ōshō, Queen Kurashiki Tōka, Queen Ōi, and Queen Seirei. In September 2019, she became the first woman to hold six major titles at once!
| Title | Years Won | Total Wins |
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| Women's Meijin | 2009–20, 2023 (current) | 13 |
| Kurashiki Tōka Cup | 2008–12, 2015–23 (current) | 14 |
| Women's Ōshō | 2010–12, 2015–18, 2021 | 8 |
| Women's Ōi | 2012, 2015–17, 2019–24 (current) | 10 |
| Women's Ōza | 2013, 2016–2018, 2021–23 (current) | 7 |
| Jo-Ō | 2013 | 1 |
| Seirei | 2019–20, 2022–24 (current) | 5 |
| Hakurei | 2022 | 1 |
Awards and Special Recognition
Kana has received many awards from the Japan Shogi Association and other groups for her amazing shogi skills and her positive impact on Japanese society.
Annual Shogi Awards
She has won the "Women's Professional of the Year" award many times, showing she was the top female player for those years. She also won "Game of the Year Special Prize" and "Women's Professional Game of the Year" for playing exciting games.
Other Special Awards
- 2007, March: Shimane Prefecture Cultural Activity Award
- 2010, March: Shimane Prefecture Meritorious Person Award
Playing Against Male Professionals
Kana has also played against male professional shogi players, which is very difficult. On June 28, 2019, she made history by winning four official games in a row against male professionals. This was a first for a woman! In July 2019, she became only the third woman to win a game against a male professional in the NHK Cup TV Tournament.
On May 27, 2022, Kana became the first woman to qualify for the main tournament of a major title (the Kiō tournament) by beating a male professional. Her strong performance against male players even allowed her to apply for the special "Professional Admission Test" to become a full professional, which no other woman had done before.
Trying to Become a Full Professional
In April 2011, even though she was already a very successful women's professional, Kana wanted to try and become a "regular" professional player (which includes male players). She joined the special training school for this. She passed an entrance exam and started at a high rank.
She kept getting promoted in the training school, becoming the first female to reach the highest training rank, 3-dan. This meant she could play in the 3-Dan League, which is the final step to becoming a full professional.
However, health issues caused her to take breaks from playing. When she returned, she played in the 3-Dan League several times but didn't quite get the winning record needed to become a full professional before reaching the age limit for the training school. But she still had the option to take the "Professional Admission Test."
The Professional Admission Test
On June 28, 2022, Kana was accepted to take the "Professional Admission Test." She was the first woman ever to be allowed to take this test. To pass, she needed to win three out of five games against five recently promoted male professionals.
The games were tough. Kana played her first game in August 2022 and lost. She lost her second game in September. In October, she lost her third game, which meant she didn't pass the test. Even though she didn't become a "regular" professional, her attempt was a big step for women in shogi.
Kana's Personal Life
Kana's younger sister, Saki Satomi, is also a women's professional shogi player. They are one of only three pairs of sisters to both become professional shogi players.
On January 1, 2024, the Japan Shogi Association announced that Kana had gotten married in 2023. She now uses her married name, Fukuma. Her husband is Kenta Fukuma, who was also a shogi trainee.
In August 2024, the Japan Shogi Association announced that Kana would play her upcoming title matches sitting at a table instead of on the floor, and without traditional Japanese clothes. This was because she was pregnant, and her doctor advised these changes for her health.
On October 4, 2024, the Japan Shogi Association announced that Kana would take a break from playing from November 2024 to February 2025 due to her pregnancy. Some of her important title matches were postponed until after her break.
