Lately my child has learned shogi and sometimes plays with me. Hearing that the Chiyoda Library was holding an exhibition "From Edo Shogunate Go and Shogi Masters to Popular Games," I walked about five minutes from Palaceside Building to see it.
This is "Library Rare Books Exhibition VOL.59" at the library. When it reopened on May 7, 2007, as part of local engagement it partnered with the Kanda Used Bookstore Association for exhibitions and a visiting used-book corner—the first show was the "Early Tezuka Osamu Collection" (23 works, 28 volumes). Each time a bookstore (one or several) exhibits items; buyers can purchase through the shop (except non-sale items). A "semi-permanent exhibition" changing every two months.
This time Akashiya Bookstore exhibits in two periods; shogi runs through Monday, January 28, so interested visitors should hurry (closed the fourth Sunday, so closed the 27th). Go is January 29 (Tue.)–February 25 (Mon.). About 40 shogi items are on display. The vivid "Shogi Ukiyo-e" (not for sale)＝photo top, the white reflection is ceiling fluorescent light on the glass case, please excuse＝and other precious Edo materials, plus Meiji–early Showa textbooks and tsume-shogi books.
I looked briefly at the popularity of go and shogi. The often-cited Japan Productivity Center "Leisure White Paper" estimates 2010 shogi players at about 12 million—roughly one-tenth of Japan's 128 million population—and go at about half, 6.16 million. That sounds like a lot, but it is extrapolated from survey respondents who "played at least once a year." Yearly trends show an unnatural spike in 2009: shogi rose from about 9 million with ups and downs, falling to 6.85 million in 2008, then jumping to 12.72 million in 2009 (go: 2.54 million → 6.4 million, 2.6×). This reflects switching from paper surveys to internet surveys, capturing many who enjoy go and shogi online or on game consoles.
One might quibble—"play once a year and you're an enthusiast?"—but counting three times, five times... leads nowhere, so let's stop.
At the top of shogi players stand the pros. To become a professional, one must enter the apprentice system; only those below a certain age with a pro's recommendation can take the exam, climbing from 6-kyū to 5-kyū... 1-kyū → shodan → nidan → sandan, and in the twice-yearly sandan league the top two each session generally reach 4-dan—only then becoming full professionals. Strict age limits are famous: shodan by age 21 (23 for pre-2002 passers), 4-dan by the end of the sandan league before turning 26 or face withdrawal (no pro career)—extendable to 29 if winning records continue. In short, only four new pros per year. The Japan Shogi Association lists 161 active pros; adding 43 retired, only 200 total. More exclusive than pro baseball or J.League.
Teachers running children's shogi classes locally are 6-dan. Anyone who ever thought "Oh, just 6-dan" should feel ashamed of their ignorance.