Ueno Asami

Keywords: People

Ueno Asami’s Nihon Ki-in photo

上野愛咲美 Ueno Asami (born 26.10.2001 in Tokyo) is a Nihon Kiin professional 5-dan. Pupil of Fujisawa Kazunari, father of Fujisawa Rina, her main rival for top female player in Japan. Her younger sister, Ueno Risa, also became a pro in 2019.

Asami's given name means “beautiful blossoming love”, from characters which if pronounced in isolation would be 愛 (ai) = love, 咲 (saki) = blossom, and 美 (mi) = beauty. In Mandarin, the characters would have the same meaning but be pronounced, Àixiàoměi. Her fierce attacking style has earned her the nickname "Hammer".

According to the [ext] Rating list, 2024-01-02, Ueno Asami is the #5 female and #212 overall in the world, and #1 female and #28 overall in Japan.

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Titles & Runners-up

Ueno Asami has won 13 titles according to her Nihon Kiin profile.

Won the 2018 Female Kisei aged 16 years 3 months, setting a record for the youngest winner of the tournament. Defeated Xie Yimin 2–0 in the final. For this win, she was awarded the 2018 Kido Prize: New Star, for winning a title in only her second year as a professional. In 2023, Nakamura Sumire broke her record by winning the Kisei (from Ueno) at 13 years 11 months.
Retained her Female Kisei title in 2019, defeating Fujisawa Rina 2–0.
Runner-up in 2019 Ryusei Tournament. This was the first time a female player in Japan became a finalist in mixed (male and female) all-pro participating tournament.
Won Female Honinbo title in 2019, defeating Fujisawa Rina 3–1.
Lost Female Kisei in 2020 to Suzuki Ayumi 1–2.
Female Honinbo 2020 Runner-up (lost to Fujisawa Rina 2–3)
Won 2020 Saikyo (defeated Xie Yimin 1–0)
Runner-up in 2021 Shinjin O
Won 2021 and 2022 Wakagoi youth tournament (third female winner after Xie Yimin and Fujisawa Rina)
Won 2022 Senko Cup (international) and the Shusai Prize (first female awardee)
Winner of 2023 Shinjin O. First ever female to win this title.
Winner of 2023 Aidu Chuo Hospital Cup. Because her sister Risa won the 2024 Female Kisei, they became the first sisters in 37 years to.hold two female titles at the same time.
Winner of 2023 Female Meijin, winning 2–0 against Fujisawa Rina, who had held the title for five years.
Runner up in 2024 Female Meijin, defending champion losing 0–2 against Fujisawa Rina.

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Victories over all-time greats

(Based on [ext] Ueno Asami, Go Ratings and game list), as of 17 Apr 2024.)

In official games, Ueno Asami has taken games off some of the greatest of a previous generation, e.g.:

Cho Chikun: 2–0
Takemiya Masaki: 1–0
O Meien: 1–2
Takao Shinji: 1–2
Yoda Norimoto: 1–0
Kono Rin: 1–2

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Head-to-head scores against current female rivals (at least five games)

Choi Jeong, 9p, current World #1 female, : 2–3
Zhou Hongyu, 7p, current World #4 female, #2 Chinese female: 1–4
Fujisawa Rina, 7p, #9 female in world, #2 female in Japan: 17–22
Nakamura Sumire, 3p, #22 female and #5 female teenager in the world, #4 ranked female in Japan: 8–3
Nyu Eiko, 4p, #33= ranked female player and #443= overall, and #6= ranked female player in Japan, 2× Female Strongest: 9–5
Suzuki Ayumi, 7p, #33= ranked female player and #443= overall, and #6= ranked female player in Japan, twice Female Strongest, once Female Kisei: 13–4
Xie Yimin, 7p, #30 ranked female in the world, #5 ranked female in Japan (many years #1): 10–3
Mukai Chiaki, 6p, #46 ranked female and #500 overall in the world, #8 female in Japan, once Female Honinbo: 7–0