Nihon Ki-in Professional Examination
Keywords: Culture & History
If I understood right, two professionals are chosen every year by pro exams by the Nihon Ki-in. The Kansai branch chooses one new professional, as does the Nagoya branch, and the women's professional exam determines one more new professional.
The Nihon Ki-in holds two professional exams a year, one in the summer and one in the autumn. From the summer exam, one person passes the exam, and from the autumn exam, two people pass.
information from:
http://gooften.net/2012/03/29/nihon-ki-in-awards-ceremony-and-mimura-senseis-present/
Blog from Antti Törmänen, who studied as an Insei in Japan in 2011-2012 and again starting in 2014.