Madoka Kitao


Madoka Kitao is a Japanese women's professional shogi player ranked 2-dan.

Shogi-related business and promotion activities

Kitao, together with former women's professional created the game, a simplified version of shogi designed to help beginners learn the game, in 2008: Kitao came up with the rules of the game, while Fujita designed the game's pieces. She is also the representative director and founder of Nekomado, a shogi promotion, education and publishing company.
Kitao is also credited with discovering Karolina Styczyńska while playing online shogi on the website 81Dojo as part of her efforts at promoting shogi outside of Japan among non-Japanese players. Kitao was quite impressed with the strength of Styczyńska's play, eventually found out who she was and then made arrangements for her to come and practice shogi in Japan. Styczyńska, through Kitao's further encouragement and support, eventually went on to become the first non-Japanese to be awarded any type of professional status by the Japan Shogi Association.
with Kitao in 2013

Promotion history

Kitao has been promoted as follows:
Note: All ranks are women's professional ranks.