Kato Masao has one of the highest winning records ever, recording 1253 wins (second only to Rin Kaiho) to 664 losses in professional games and is fifth in the all-time record list with a total of 47 title wins, including obtaining the Honinbo title four times, the Meijin title twice, the Judan title seven times, as well as the Oza eleven times.
In 1979, he held five titles: Honinbo, Judan, Tengen, Oza, and Kakusei. He held four titles in 1987 with the Meijin, Judan, Gosei, and Oza. He has defended any major title for the longest time (keeping the Oza title for eight years in a row) along with the Judan title at four years in a row. He was the Most Outstanding Player in Japan six times.
His last major title was the Honinbo in 2002, becoming the oldest player ever to win this title. His only title after this date was the 10th Agon Cup, which he won in 2003.
Kato became Vice Chairman of the board of the Nihon Kiin in the summer of 2002 and was the right-hand man of the chairman, Toshimitsu Matsuo, who was grappling with the task of reforming the administration of the Nihon Kiin. Following Toshimitsu’s resignation, Kato was elected to be the Chief Director of the Nihon Kiin in 2004 along with his duties as President of the International Go Federation. He led many important reforms successfully especially during a difficult period. These reforms include the reversal of the fiancical deficit of the Nihon Kiin, the changing of the dan promotion rules by eliminating the Oteai, changing the komi to 6.5 points, and shortened the game time limits among others, as well as shortening game time limits.
On 30 December 2004, he died of a cerebral infarction and complications in a Tokyo hospital at 12:33 pm. He had felt ill earlier and was diagnosed at a hospital for having suffered an injury to a vein in his brain. He later had an operation, but his condition worsened until his eventual passing on.
Kato Masao worked diligently to improve the standards of go both domestically and abroad. His love of go worked to make the most of this game to everyone possible, and to him, we dedicate this youth title tournament for his hard work in support of the future players. Thank you, Kato Masao for all you have done and we hope to contribute just as much in the future.
| Written by: | Special thanks to: |
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Christopher Vu President, American Go Honor Society 2002-2005 Jordan Hoang President, Canadian Go Honor Society 2002-2004 |
Daily Yomiuri Gobase.org Nihon Kiin Sensei's Library |