title: Takeshi Kawakami
text: # Takeshi Kawakami
  
  Takeshi Kawakami (川上 猛, Kawakami Takeshi, born July 12, 1972) is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 7-dan.
  
  ## Early life, amateur shogi and apprenticeship
  
  Kawakami was born on July 12, 1972, in Adachi, Tokyo. As a junior high school first-grade student in 1985, he finished runner-up to fellow future shogi professional Nobuyuki Yashiki in the 10th Junior High School Student Meijin Tournament [ja]; the following year, however, he won the same tournament. In 1987, he was accepted into the Japan Shogi Association's apprentice school at the rank of 6-kyū under the guidance of Hirokichi Hirano [ja]. Promoted to apprentice professional 1-dan in 1990, he full professional status and the rank of 4-dan in 1993 after winning the 12th 3-dan League (October 1992 – March 1993) with a record of 15 wins and 3 losses.
  
  ## Shogi professional
  
  Kawakami finished runner-up to Torahiko Tanaka in the 3rd Ginga-sen [ja] in 1994, but the tournament was not yet considered to be an official tournament at the time.
  
  In 2013, he finished the finished the 71st Meijin Class C2 league (April 2012 – March 2013) with a record of 2 wins and 8 losses, earning a third demotion point which meant automatic demotion to "Free Class" play.
  
  ### Promotion history
  
  The promotion history for Kawakami is as follows:
  
  * 6-kyū: 1987
  * 1-dan: 1990
  * 4-dan: April 1, 1993
  * 5-dan: June 3, 1999
  * 6-dan: September 20, 2005
  * 7-dan: October 17, 2017
  