Masahiko Urano

Masahiko Urano (浦野 真彦) is a Japanese professional shogi player ranked 8-dan.

Early life and apprenticeship
Urano was born in Osaka Prefecture on March 14, 1964. In October 1977, he was accepted into entered the Japan Shogi Association's apprentice school at the rank of 6-kyū under the tutelage of shogi professional Sutekichi Nakai. He was promoted to 1-dan in 1990 and obtained full professional status and the rank of 4-dan in October 1983.

Shogi professional
Urano won his 400th game as a professional in February 2005.

In March 2017, Urano voluntarily declared himself as a free class player, thus leaving the Meijin tournament league. During the 75th Meijin Class C2 League season (April 2016–March 2017), Urano lost all ten of his games and received a demotion point as a result. This was a continuation of a series of poor results in Meijin Class League play—73rd Meijin Class C1 (1 win and 9 losses) and 74th Meijin Class C1 (2 wins and 8 losses) —and rather than risk automatic demotion to free class play, Urano decided to do so of his own accord.

Promotion history
The promotion history for Urano is as follows:
 * 6-kyū: 1977
 * 1-dan: 1980
 * 4-dan: October 19, 1983
 * 5-dan: April 1, 1987
 * 6-dan: April 1, 1989
 * 7-dan: April 1, 1996
 * 8-dan: September 14, 2012

Awards and honors
In 2008, Urano received the Japan Shogi Association's "25 Years Service Award" for being an active professional for twenty-five years.

Published works
Urano has authored several books and DVDs on shogi strategy and tsume shogi; some of these are as follows.