First shogi player to win the seven major lifetime titles (traditional titles)

Yoshiharu Habu (Japan) became the first shogi player to win the seven major lifetime titles (traditional titles) in the history of competitive shogi after winning the first lifetime title Eisei-Kioh on 8 March 1996 and the final lifetime title Eisei-Ryuo on 5 December 2017.

In 2008, he lost the challenge for the Ryuo title, his final lifetime title to win, against Akira Watanabe (Japan) who became the first Eisei-Ryuo, after winning the first three matches and losing four consecutively in the seven-match championship finals. Habu's seventh Ryuo title match was also against Watanabe, this time four against one. The seventh Ryuo title makes Habu's 99th major title win, the highest number in the history of competitive shogi.