Since his first encounter with shogi in the third grade of elementary school, Honda has been so absorbed in the game that, aside from eating and sleeping, he has spent all of his time playing shogi. He quickly rose to prominence, ranking eighth in Japan as a fifth grader and third in Japan as a first-year junior high school student, and he even sat for the professional Shogi player examination. However, the professional world was much more difficult than he had imagined, and he bowed out in the first round. “I was depressed by my first failure, but with the encouragement of my father, I decided to pursue my new dream of winning a national championship as an amateur," said Honda, whose track record includes a second-place finish in the junior high school division of the national tournament in his third year of junior high school. It looked like everything was going swimmingly, but in fact, he had been battling a slump all through his junior high school years. “I was troubled by the fact that I couldn't just enjoy ‘Shogi for Shogi’s sake’ and that I couldn't fully demonstrate my ability when it counted. Looking back, I think it was because I was only playing Shogi for my own sake,” recounts Honda.
What spurred a change of heart in Honda was his high school Shogi club advisor and fellow club members. “The kind support of my advisor and fellow members helped me get out of my slump. I realized I had to play Shogi not for myself, but for everyone else, and this became a source of strength," says Honda. After this change of attitude, Honda won two individual championships at the high school nationals. At last, his dream of winning a national tournament had come true.

After joining Ritsumeikan University, which he had long admired for its formidable Shogi club, Honda’s ability and achievements were recognized, and he hit the ground running from his first year as a regular member in team competitions. In his second year, he won the Kansai regional qualifying tournament, which earned him a trip to the 79th Student Master Tournament, his first national individual championship at the university level. Honda experienced the biggest setback of his life at this tournament, however. It was discovered that the opponent he lost to in the semi-finals had engaged in grave misconduct, and this filled him with indignation and frustration. He was so shocked that, for a time, he felt he could not trust other people and holed up at home. After hitting rock bottom, it was the members of the Shogi Club who pulled Honda up. He recalls: “Everyone was worried about me, but they treated me like normal and didn't fuss over me. We ate meals together, went to karaoke together, and took trips together. Just going about things like normal gradually healed me, and I began to feel that the team need me. There was a point when I thought I would never be able to play Shogi again, but eventually I felt a strong desire to ‘repay the favor’ to everyone who had been there for me. When I thought about the best way to repay them, the answer came to me: making sure the Shogi Club won a team championship.”

Leading to team to victory as captain

Aiming for the next level of competition

After becoming a fourth-year student and retiring as captain, Honda says his next goal is to win a regular national tournament after graduating from university. “Even after I enter the workforce, I plan to balance my work with competitive play. Unlike student tournaments, there are many levels of competition, and I know it is a very tough world, but since I am going to compete anyway, I want to make the most of my knowledge and aim for victory ," says Honda with a sparkle in his eye. It seems that there is no end in sight for Honda’s desire to grow.