Shogi player Tomoka Nishiyama (西山朋佳) told a press conference that she will exercise her right to become a professional shogi player, or kishi, NHK reported. NHK said this will make her the first female kishi in shogi history.
Nishiyama earned the right on October 10. That day she defended the 6th Hulic Cup Hakurei title, a women's tournament, and reached five career Hakurei titles. According to a Shueisha Online report on the tournament's sponsor, Hulic, this made Nishiyama, who holds four women's titles, the first woman eligible to transfer into professional shogi's Free Class. At her post-game press conference, she reserved judgment on whether to use the right.
The transfer rule was approved at a June 2025 general meeting of kishi. Shueisha Online notes that opinions on it are divided, because it grants kishi status for results in women's tournaments rather than through the Shoreikai apprentice system or the professional transfer exam.
The sponsor behind the Hakurei title
The Shueisha Online report focuses on Hulic, a real estate company that organizes the Hakurei tournament and sponsors the Kisei title match. The report says Hulic has supported shogi in these ways as newspaper circulation declines, and that the company's chairman has welcomed the new rule.
Hulic began as the property management company of the former Fuji Bank. Its securities report lists an average annual salary of ¥22.95 million for the fiscal year ended December 2025, above Mitsui Fudosan's ¥18.56 million and Mitsubishi Estate's ¥17.59 million. Hulic's full-year recurring profit has also risen for 17 straight fiscal years since the company listed in 2008, the report says.