Eio Sakata
| Eio Sakata | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Full name | Eio Sakata |
| Kanji | 坂田栄男 |
| Kana | サカタエイオ |
| Born |
February 15, 1920 Tokyo, Japan |
| Died | October 22, 2010 (aged 90) Tokyo, Japan |
| Residence |
 Tokyo, Japan
|
| Teacher | Tatsuko Masubuchi |
| Turned pro | 1935 |
| Retired | 2000 |
| Rank | 9 dan |
| Affiliation | Nihon Ki-in |
Eio Sakata (坂田 栄男 Sakata Eio?, February 15, 1920 – October 22, 2010) was a 9-dan Japanese professional Go player.
Sakata became a professional Go player in 1935. His first title match was the Hon'inbō in 1951 when he challenged Hashimoto Utaro. More than usual was at stake in the match because Hashimoto played for the Kansai Ki-in, which Hashimoto had founded the year before. This put additional pressure on Sakata to win the title back for the Nihon Ki-in. Sakata started out well, winning three of the first four games, but Hashimoto fought back and won the final four games, and so kept the Hon'inbō title. Afterwards, Sakata went on to win a couple of small titles which were the start of a meteoric run of major wins in which he won almost all of the titles in Japan except the Hon'inbō. In 1961 he was once again the challenger for the Hon'inbō. His opponent, Takagawa Kaku, had held the title for nine years straight. Sakata won the Hon'inbō and held it for seven years in a row. Thus he became an honorary Honinbo, and was later called the 23rd Honinbo, with the name Honinbo Eiju. During his Honinbo reign, in 1963, captured the Meijin, making Sakata the first player to simultaneously hold both titles (which at the time were the biggest titles in Japan). Sakata's strongest year was 1964, when he won 30 games and lost only two and held seven major titles: Meijin, Honinbo, Nihon Ki-in Championship, Asahi Pro Best Ten, Oza, Nihon Kiin#1, and NHK Cup.
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