Kiyokazu Katsumata

Kiyokazu Katsumata (勝又 清和) is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 7-dan.

Early life, amateur shogi and apprenticeship
Katsumata was born on March 21, 1969, in Zama, Kanagawa. As a junior high school student, Katsumata won the 8th Junior High School Student Meijin Tournament in 1983. Later that same year, he was accepted into the Japan Shogi Association's apprentice school at the rank of 6-kyū as a student of shogi professional Kazuo Ishida. He was promoted to amateur professional 1-dan in 1986 and was awarded full professional status and the corresponding rank of 4-dan in April 1995.

Promotion history
The promotion history for Katsumata is as follows:


 * 6-kyū: 1983
 * 1-dan: 1986
 * 4-dan: April 1, 1995
 * 5-dan: April 1, 1999
 * 6-dan: March 13, 2007
 * 7-dan: April 1, 2020