The educational activity center operated by Co-op Kyoritsusya* engages in a variety of educational and child-rearing activities with the cooperation of local residents.

In the educational activity center on the second floor of the Kyoritsusya shopping mall "Tsuruoka Co-op House Kopia,"  Co-op Kyoritsusya holds a Shogi (Japanese chess) class for boys and girls** with the cooperation of the Japan Shogi Association on a regular basis.

About 16 years ago, Mr. OKABE Reo, who played Shogi there for about 6 years from the first grade to the sixth grade, became a professional Shogi player on April 1 this year. Mr. OKABE joined "Shoreikai" (Japan Shogi Association's Apprentice School) in 2011 when he was in the sixth grade. He traveled long distances by overnight bus to play Shogi.

  

On March 29, NHK Yamagata Broadcasting Station interviewed Mr. OKABE at the Co-op's Shogi Class. When Mr. OKABE was asked to be interviewed, he said he wanted to hold it in the Japanese-style room on the second floor of Tsuruoka Co-op House Kopia, where he had fond memories of the Shogi class he attended as a child.

Mr.OKABE Reo (left) and Mr. UENO Shinichi (right)

Mr. UENO Shinichi, the instructor of the class, said, "We are very happy that Mr.OKABE has become a professional. I hope he will do his best to become a model for those who will follow in his footsteps."

It was a great pleasure for Yamagata Prefecture, Tsuruoka City, and the Co-op.

 

*Kyoritsu-sha is a consumer co-op in Yamagata Prefecture with a membership of 160,040. The co-op is engaged in businesses such as stores, home delivery, kerosene supply, insurance, welfare, funeral, and services.

**The "Shogi Class for Boys and Girls" started in October 1997. The instructor is Mr. UENO Shinichi, a Shogi Association Promotion Instructor of the Tsuruoka Branch. Currently, about 10 children who love Shogi are enrolled in the class.