Saikouisen Nihon Pro Mahjong
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Country | Japan |
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Inception | 1976 |
Leader | Mr. Kiyoshi Niitsu, Representative |
Members | 783 |
The Saikouisen Nihon Pro Mahjong association (「最高位戦日本プロ麻雀協会」 Saikōisen Nihon Puro Mājan Kyōkai, informally called "Saikouisen") is a professional organization of competitive mahjong players.
Overview
As the most historic Mahjong organization in Japan, Saikouisen originated from a title match established in 1976.
In its inaugural year (1976), in order to create a competitive stage for professional mahjong players, the mahjong professional magazine "Kindai Mahjong"(近代麻雀) launched a league, which must featured 10 players competing in 100 matches over a year. Through a year long-term league, the strongest player awarded the title of Saikoui(最高位).
Representative figures in Saikouisen include:
Player | Time of joining in | Main achievements | |
---|---|---|---|
Sakamoto Toshihiko
阪元 俊彦 |
5th | 1980 | the organization's oldest player |
Masahito Iida
飯田 正人 |
6th | 1981 | Most Saikoui titles (10) |
Saikoui titles Longest streak (4 consecutive wins, 14th~17th terms) | |||
Masaki Kaneko
金子 正輝 |
6th | 1981 | Most appearances in the Saikoui Title Match Final (20) |
Longest A1 League tenure (38 term total & consecutively) | |||
4 Saikoui titles | |||
Kota Ozaki
尾崎 公太 |
22th | 1997 | Youngest Saikoui title (29th term, aged 26) |
Exit in 35th, 2010 | |||
Kaori Nemoto (F)
根本 佳織 |
27th | 2002 | Most Joryuu Saikoui titles (5) |
Joryuu Saikoui titles Longest streak (5 consecutive wins, 5th~9th terms) |
among other prominent players.
Over time, Saikouisen expanded its structure and rules. New secondary leagues were introduced, including B (2nd~), B2 (6th~), C (9th~), C2 (20th~), C3 (36th~), D1 (39th~), D2 (42nd~), and D3 (44th~), broadening participation. Saikouisen is open to more players.
Order | Match Year | Significant Changes |
10th | 1985 | Transitioned from a title match to a formal organization. |
12th | 1987 | Codified written competition rules, removing ippatsu, hidden dora, and noten penalty points (now known as Saikouisen Classic rules). |
15th | 1990 | Set up Saikouisen Pair Match event. |
17th | 1992 | Set up Ryuuousen title match, the rules in this match retaining ippatsu, hidden dora, and noten penalty points. |
22nd | 1997 | Adopted ippatsu, hidden dora, and noten penalty as standard rules. |
26th | 2001 | Set up Joryuu Saikouisen (Womens' Saikouisen) title match. |
31st | 2006 | Set up Saikouisen Classic title match, using the traditional rules in this match (removing ippatsu, hidden dora, and noten penalty points) |
37th | 2012 | Set up Shinjin'ōsen title match, limited to players with ≤5 years in the organization and aged ≤35 or ≤30. |
38th | 2013 | Renamed to "Saikouisen Nihon Pro Mahjong association under the general legal entity"
Established the Kansai Headquarters. |
In order to honor the deceased Masato Iida, Saikouisen Classic renamed as Masahito Iida Cup Saikouisen Classic | ||
39th | 2014 | Established the Hokkaido Headquarters |
41st | 2016 | Established the Tōkai Branch |
42nd | 2017 | Set up the Saikouisen Dojo |
Established the Niigata Branch | ||
Set up Shinkisen title match with adjustable rules in different stage. | ||
45th | 2020 | Established the Kyūshū Headquarters. |
adopted a 10-tier league system (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2, C3, D1, D2, D3). | ||
47th | 2022 | Established the Tōhoku Branch. |
48th | 2023 | Established the Saikouisen Studio. |
Membership
As of May 2024, Saikouisen currently has 783 members.
Game rules
Saikouisen has changed their game rules in 2023. While the core of the rules seems to not have changed much, the treatment of penalties seems to have been significantly altered compared to past editions.
- 2023 rules [ja]: https://saikouisen.com/pdf/230126regulations
- 2000 rules [en]: https://www.mjstars.net/_files/ugd/a08886_31822aadd41a410791fee02471b681f0.pdf
- 2000 rules [ja]: https://saikouisen.com/pdf/171211kitei
Title matches
The Saikouisen promotes a variety of titles contested under different rulesets.[1] As of February 2025, those titles are:
Title match | Est. | Current champion | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Japanese | Romanized | Japanese | Romanized | Edition | |
Major titles | |||||
最高位戦 | Saikōisen[2] | 1976 | 石井 一馬 | Kazuma Ishii | 49th (2024) |
飯田正人杯・最高位戦Classic | Masahito Iida Cup Saikōisen Classic[3] Iida Masahito Hai Saikōisen Kurashikku |
2006 | 18th (2024) | ||
發王戦 | Ryūōsen | 1992 | 寿(とし) | Toshi | 32nd (2024) |
新輝戦 | Shinkisen | 2017 | 田中 祥平 | Shohei Tanaka | 8th (2024) |
蒼翼戦 | Sōyokusen | 2025 | 石井 一馬 | Kazuma Ishii | 1st (2025) |
Women's titles | |||||
女流最高位戦 | Joryū Saikōisen[4] |
2001 | 瑞原 明奈 | Akina Mizuhara | 24th (2024) |
女流名人戦 | Joryū Meijinsen | 1984[5] | 谷崎 舞華 | Maika Tanizaki | 24th (2024) |
Other titles | |||||
新人王戦 | Shinjin'ōsen | 2012[6] | 高倉 拓馬 | Takuma Takakura | 49th (2024) |
関西王者決定戦 | Kansai Championship Kansai Ōja Ketteisen |
2017 | 酒井 一興 | Kazuoki Sakai | 7th (2023) |
北海道王者決定戦 | Hokkaido Championship Hokkaidō Ōja Ketteisen |
2019 | 本間 健滋 | Kenji Honma | 6th (2024) |
アマ最高位戦 | Amateur Saikōisen Ama Saikōisen |
2003 | 小西 隆之 | Takayuki Konishi | 19th (2023) |
M.League Players
15 (10 current, 5 former) members have been drafted into four out of the nine M.League teams.
Player | Team | Seasons | |
---|---|---|---|
Japanese | Romanized | ||
園田賢 | Ken Sonoda | Akasaka Drivens | 2018–present |
鈴木たろう | Taro Suzuki | Akasaka Drivens | 2018–present |
浅見真紀 | Maki Asami | Akasaka Drivens | 2023–present |
渡辺太 | Futoshi Watanabe | Akasaka Drivens | 2023–present |
日向藍子 | Aiko Hinata | Shibuya Abemas | 2019–present |
茅森早香 | Sayaka Kayamori | SegaSammy Phoenix | 2018–present |
醍醐大 | Hiroshi Daigo | SegaSammy Phoenix | 2023–present |
竹内元太 | Genta Takeuchi | SegaSammy Phoenix | 2024–present |
瑞原明奈 | Akina Mizuhara | U-Next Pirates | 2019–present |
鈴木優 | Yu Suzuki | U-Next Pirates | 2022–present |
近藤誠一 | Seiichi Kondo | SegaSammy Phoenix | 2018–2022 (player) 2023–present (coach) |
村上淳 | Jun Murakami | Akasaka Drivens | 2018–2022 |
丸山奏子 | Kanako Maruyama | Akasaka Drivens | 2019–2022 |
朝倉康心 | Koushin Asakura | U-Next Pirates | 2018–2021 |
石橋伸洋 | Nobuhiro Ishibashi | U-Next Pirates | 2018–2021 |
History
Title match period (1976 ~ 1984)
Establishment (1st term, 1976)
In 1976, for the 1st Saikouisen , the mahjong magazine Kindai Mahjong (近代麻雀), published by Takeshobō(竹書房), invited ten established "professional/high-ranking" players to form a league. The participants included:
- Asada Tetsuya(阿佐田哲也, scriptwriter), Kojima Takeo(小島武夫), Furukawa Kaishō(古川凱章), Tamura Mitsuaki(田村光昭), and Aoyagi Kenji(青柳賢治) (all former members of the Mahjong Shinsengumi),
- Inagaki Masayuki(稻垣真幸) (Japan Mahjong League),
- Kawada Takashi(川田隆) (Japan Mahjongdō League),
- Numa Matarō(灘麻太郎) (former Japan Mahjongdō League),
- Aoki Hiroshi(青木博) (National Mahjong Dan Ranking Committee),
- Ōkuma Hideo(大隈秀夫) (2nd Meijin title holder).
However, disagreements arose between Kojima Takeo and Furukawa Kaishō regarding the ranking criteria—specifically whether to prioritize average placement or total points. This led to the league splitting into two evaluation standards before commencement.
After 100 games, the results were:
- Average Placement 1st Numa Matarō (2.305 avg. rank)
- Total Points 1st Kawada Takashi (+356.5 pts)
Both were recognized as the inaugural Saikoui title holders.
Reformation and Expansion (2nd term,1977)
From the 2nd term, the match adopted a combined scoring system that integrated both total points and placement to determine rankings, culminating in the selection of a single Saikoui champion per term.
Structural reforms were implemented:
- Match format: The original 100 games schedule was revised to:
- 40 games preliminary round → 30 games final stage *(After 20 final games, the 5th-place player was eliminated; the remaining 4 players competed in 10 additional games)*
- New tier system: The B League was introduced as a secondary division.
the result of 2nd Saikouisen were:
Player | Total Points | |
---|---|---|
Winner | Tamura Mitsuaki
田村 光昭 |
+297.1 pts |
Runner-up | Numa Matarō
灘 麻太郎 |
+102.8 pts |
3rd | Kawada Takashi
川田 隆 |
-37.8 pts |
4th | Takagi Kenji
高木 賢治 |
-91.7 pts |
5th | Aoyagi Kenji
青柳 賢治 |
-280.4 pts |
Controversy & Great Split (5th term, 1980)
During the finals of the 5th Saikouisen, an alleged match-fixing erupted that sent shockwaves through Japan's professional mahjong world.
Two players—Numa Matarō(灘麻太郎) and Ara Masayoshi(荒正義)—came under strong suspicion of collusion, resulting in their disqualification.
The 5th Saikouisen was immediately suspended. Tamura Mitsuaki, who held the provisional lead in cumulative points when play was halted, was declared the 5th Saikoui champion by default.
The incident caused an irreparable rift between Kindai Mahjong and several top players including Kojima Takeo(小島武夫), Numa Matarō(灘麻太郎) and Ara Masayoshi(荒正義).
- It served as a catalyst for the early establishment of JPML (Japan Professional Mahjong League).
- The Japanese professional mahjong world underwent a significant schism.
Despite the upheaval, the Saikouisen continued its expansion:
- 1981 (6th Saikouisen): Introduced the B2 League as a new tier
- 1984 (9th Saikouisen): Added the C League, further broadening the competition structure.
Formal organization period (1985 ~ present)
independence from Kindai Mahjong (10 term, 1985)
Starting with the 10th term in 1985, Kindai Mahjong magazine ceased its sponsorship of the Saikouisen. The match transitioned to player-led management, marking the official establishment of the Saikoui Tournament Nihon Professional Mahjong Association (最高位戦日本プロ麻雀協会).
References
- ↑ Saikouisen title matches
- ↑ The final is referred to as the Saikōi Ketteisen 「最高位決定戦」
- ↑ Simply known as the Saikōisen Classic until 2013, when it was renamed following the death of Masahito Iida, recognized as "Lifetime Champion" (「永世最高位」 Eisei Saikōi)
- ↑ The final is referred to as the Joryū Saikōi Ketteisen 「女流最高位決定戦」
- ↑ Organized by the Monthly Professional Mahjong magazine; sponsored by the Saikouisen since 2015
- ↑ Until 2012, the title was awarded to the winner of the B1 League.