This is an article about the history of Female Go players.
Female Go players are viewed to be a minority. This is due to these reasons:
These are caused by many reasons. One factor is they retire earlier due to marriage, pregnancy and maternity.
In Japan, Go players are always compared with shogi players. This is because newspapers like Asahi Shinbun treat them equal. But there is a big difference among female players. Female Go players usually belong to the same organization with others. But this does not happen for shogi. Female shogi players belong to the Ladies Professional Shogi Association (LPSA).[12] The others belong to the Japan Shogi Association (JSA).[13] Some LPSA players like Kana Satomi have tried to enter JSA. But currently, no one has entered.
In Europe, there were no notable female players before Svetlana Shikshina[14] and Diana Koszegi.[15] In order to increase female players, the European Go Federation is holding the European Womens Go Championship (EWGC) since 1996 and the European Pair Go Championship (EPGC) since 1997.[16][17]
Kansai Ki-in has eased the age rules to female players.[18] At Nihon Ki-in, there is a special exam for female players. Most female professionals (except Xie Yimin and Keiko Kato etc.) have got their pro status by this way.[19] In 2019, Nihon Ki-in has started a female player test system to give more support to them.[20] Nihon Ki-in is also sponsoring female amateur games.
See the main article: All Japan Student Go Federation § All Japan Female Student Honinbo |
See also: ja:全日本女子学生本因坊決定戦 |
This is a tournament operated with the All Japan Student Go Federation. Some winners have got pro status, or became top amateur players. Only players who cleared regional games can attend.
See the main article: ja:全日本女流アマチュア囲碁選手権大会 |
The All Japan Female Amateur Go Championship is the highest match for female amateur Go players. Some winners have became a pro. The next table shows the notable winners.
Year | Winner |
---|---|
1965 | Tomoko Ogawa[21] |
1970-1971 and 1975 | Kazuko Kanai |
1977-1978, 1980, 1985 and 1987 | Yoshiko Kamekura |
1981-1984 | Yasuko Yoshie |
1990-1991 and 1993-1995 | Akiko Sato |
1997 | Narumi Ohsawa[22][23] |
2000-2001 | Mieko Nakajima[24] |
2002 and 2013 | Maya Ohsawa (Narumi Ohsawa's sister. The Ohsawa sisters became the first sisters to win at here) |
2003 | Kaori Mukai (Chiaki Mukai's sister, now known as Kaori Mimura[25]) |
2004 | Miori Shimosaka |
2005 and 2007 | Akane Ishii (currently known as Akane Tatsumi[26]) |
2014-2015 | Akiko Fujiwara[27][28][29] |
2016 | Reina Oshima[30] |
2017 | Saeka Iwata[31] |
Kaori Chinen, Yukari Yoshihara and Rina Fujisawa also joined this game.