Touji Souya

Touji Souya (宗谷 冬司 Sōya Tōji) is a professional shogi player who holds the title of Meijin. He is one of five shogi players in history who went pro in middle school, and he became the youngest Meijin ever. His appearance hasn't changed much since he was a teenager, so he looks very young. He has been compared to a god in shogi, but he's a bit absent-minded. After his match with Kiriyama, it was revealed that he has some sort of intermittent hearing loss of unknown cause. He lives in Kyoto with his grandmother, their housekeeper Tama-chan and her son.

Appearance
Souya is a man described as having an appearance that has changed very little since he was a teenager. He has a thin build with short white hair and grey eyes. He is usually dressed in a formal manner, and wears thin-rimmed rectangular glasses. He is often seen with a stoic expression.

Personality
In the world of shogi, Souya is described as a "child of god" due to his unmatched skill in the game. He is often seen wearing a bland expression, as he seems to be immersed in a world of his own. Due to his hearing loss he rarely engages in any conversations with fellow shogi players, which establishes an aura of unattainability around him. He is easily irritated by interruptions and is said to not do well with strangers or children.

Childhood
Souya became a professional shogi when he was in middle school.

Adulthood
Souya became the youngest Meijin, at the age of 21, later gaining intermittent hearing loss due to an unknown reason. He holds the title Meijin, beating every challenger.

Matches



 * Meijin Matches
 *  Souya  v. Kumakura [4-3]
 * Promotional Match
 *  Souya  v. Kiryama [1-0]

Trivia

 * During interviews he uses lipreading to recognise questions, he gets them right most of the time.
 * His grandmother is a piano instructor.
 * Souya built a shed in his garden in order to keep his housekeeper's young son from disrupting his concentration, but ended up transforming it into his own shogi workshop.