He’s a shogi legend. TATEISHI Kei, pediatrician and alum of Kobe University’s School of Medicine, entered Shoreikai, a training league for future professional shogi players, when he was just a sixth grader in elementary school. He had a bright future in shogi ahead of him, but at the age of 17, he suddenly called it quits. Some 30 years have passed since then, and now, Tateishi is making his return to the world of shogi. You wouldn’t know that it’s been that long though, judging by his tenacious performance at the National Amateur Shogi Meijin Championship as representative of Hyogo Prefecture. We sat down with Tateishi to hear more about his endeavors as both a pediatrician and amateur shogi player as he enters his life’s thrilling second act.
Playing shogi in junior high was tough
Tateishi began shogi relatively late, as a third grader in elementary school. His journey began at a shogi workshop held during summer vacation while he was living in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture. At the time, he only really had a fundamental understanding of the rules, but he shocked those around him with his astounding improvement, which led to him receiving a recommendation to take the entrance examination for Shoreikai as a fourth grader.
He eventually passed the exam when he was in the sixth grade, which marked the start of his training in this group full of elite shogi players all aiming to go pro. In Shoreikai, you’ve got to get the requisite results and advance or you can’t become a professional shogi player (ranked fourth "dan" and up). When he was in junior high school, Tateishi’s father told him to focus on shogi, saying that he didn’t have to study or even go to high school. This was at a time in which many shogi players were junior high graduates. But Tateishi had a strong desire to study and attend university.
While he did end up entering high school at the recommendation of his mentor, the late ARIYOSHI Michio (ninth dan), there were many around him who still expected great things from him as a shogi player, which caused him to feel guilty about studying. He ended up dropping out of high school after two months.
“It got tough around my second year of junior high. I had no drive to win, which made me realize that I just wasn’t cut out to be a competitor. Winning didn’t make me happy, it simply provided relief from not losing since I was so self-conscious. My feelings toward the game had warped.”
While he did compete at the third dan level, the highest possible at Shoreikai and just a step away from going pro, Tateishi was already mentally done with shogi. He was 17 when he told his mentor that he was going to quit. As a rule, at Shoreikai, players who aren’t professionals by the age of 26 must leave the league, so the decision to quit so far below the age limit was an unprecedented one.
“It was a struggle to play. I had no intention of returning.” The world of shogi was left in shock, and from then on, Tateishi was known was the “legendary third dan.”
With the goal of becoming a pediatrician, he entered the School of Medicine
Tateishi had already planned on becoming a pediatrician by the time he quit shogi.
“I wanted to help children suffering from diseases that weren’t even their fault. I couldn’t find my place in the world of shogi, but I felt a real significance to working in pediatrics.” While there weren’t any medical workers near to him, he had an unwavering devotion to “making the future bright for children.”
But university entrance exams were a struggle. “I wasn’t really familiar with the entrance exam system at the time, so I thought that I could just get into medical schools at universities like the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University after just a few months of studying,” said Tateishi with a bit of a wry smile. He wasn’t great at learning from others, so his studies primarily consisted of reviewing huge amounts of reference texts all on his own. He was 21 when he entered the School of Medicine at Kobe University.
It didn’t get any easier after he got there, however, as the lectures were just as tough. “I didn’t really understand the important points that my teachers were trying to convey in their lectures, so my grades weren’t great.” Even so, his student life was enjoyable. “Students at Kobe University weren’t really the skinny, bookworm type, so I was happy to be able to interact with all kinds of different people there,” Tateishi reminisced.
While at the university, he received an invite from the Shogi Club after they learned that he entered Kobe University, but he “didn’t yet feel like it would be fun to play again.” Following graduation, he went on to become a pediatrician, just as he had aimed to do. After 10 years as a hospital physician, in 2012, he opened his own practice in Sanda City, Hyogo Prefecture, his wife’s hometown.
A life he can be proud of
Tateishi's return to the world of shogi came about four years ago, when his second son, now in high school, became interested in shogi as a sixth grader in elementary school. When he was watching his son play shogi on an app, he began to think that perhaps now he could enjoy shogi again, too.
It’s been three years since Tateishi began entering amateur tournaments. In 2023, he was runner-up at the Hyogo Prefectural Amateur Shogi Meijin Tournament, eventually placing top 16 at the national tournament. The world of shogi was abuzz with news of Tateishi’s return. While he ended up winning the Hyogo Prefectural tournament this year, his journey unfortunately ended in group play at the national tournament.
Tateishi remarked on the huge difference between modern shogi, which now incorporates artificial intelligence, and the shogi of yesteryear. He’s “got a long way to go” in polishing his skills through online matches with powerful opponents and appearances at tournaments in the area. A win at the national tournament would mean another chance at the third dan league, the very training ground his 17-year-old self left behind after his retirement from shogi. The road will be unforgiving, but that’s what it takes to become a professional.
“It would be too much to bear if I let my shogi career end as just a hobby. It might be too good to ever come true, but I’d like to play one more time in the third dan league and fulfill my dream of becoming a pro. I want to make my life something I can be proud of.” This year Tateishi celebrates his 50th birthday, but his comeback has only just begun.
Resume
In 1975, born in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture. At 11, joined the shogi training league, Shoreikai; at 15, reached third dan, the top rank at Shoreikai; and at 17, left the league. In 1996, entered the School of Medicine at Kobe University, graduating in 2002. After working at hospitals such as Saiseikai Hyogoken Hospital, in 2012, opened the Tateishi Pediatrics Clinic, his own practice in Sanda City, Hyogo Prefecture. His message to his juniors at Kobe University: “Do what you like to do, and do it to the fullest. You may not know if you can pull it off, but doing your best will provide you with a reason to live.” His hobbies include jogging.
