title: Kazuo Sugimoto
text: # Kazuo Sugimoto
  
  Kazuo Sugimoto (杉本 和陽, Sugimoto Kazuo, born September 1, 1991) is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 5-dan.
  
  ## Early life
  
  Sugimoto was born in Ōta, Tokyo on September 1, 1991. He learned how to play shogi from watching his father (an amateur 2-dan) play. As a sixth-grade student at Tamagawa Elementary School in 2003, Sugimoto won the 28th Elementary School Student Meijin Tournament [ja], defeating fellow future professional Takuya Ishida in the semi-finals.
  
  Later in 2003, Sugimoto entered the Japan Shogi Association's apprentice school at the rank of 6-kyū as a student of shogi professional Kunio Yonenaga. He was promoted to the rank of 3-dan in 2008 and obtained professional status and the rank of 4-dan in April 2017 after finishing second to Nishida in the 60th 3-dan League (October 2016 – March 2017) with a record of 12 wins and 6 losses.
  
  ## Promotion history
  
  The promotion history for Sugimoto is as follows.
  
  * 6-kyū: September 2003
  * 3-dan: October 2008
  * 4-dan: April 1, 2017
  * 5-dan: July 8, 2021
  