Age: 15
A player from the Kansai Go Institute, Yashiro began studying Go at the age of ten and became a professional player by fifteen. Praised as a prodigy by his teacher and regulars at the Kansai Institute, he often struggles to gain support from his parents, who believe pursuing Go has no future and insist he continue high school. Undeterred by this setback, Yashiro aims to prove his decision was right by becoming a successful player.
Yashiro was initially mentioned as a potential contender for the Hokuto Cup preliminaries in Japan. He made his first appearance during Honda's study group, where he defeated Honda using a Tengen opening. Later, in the Hokuto prelims quarterfinals, after easily beating his Tokyo opponents, he faced Hikaru. To the onlookers' amazement, their game, which Yashiro opened with an unconventional 5-5 point (even more unusual than a Tengen opening) and Hikaru responded with Tengen, progressed aggressively with both players showcasing their prodigious skills. The gap between their level and Ochi, the winner of the other final match and thus securing a spot on the Hokuto team, was evident. Even though Yashiro lost to Hikaru due to superior strategies, Ochi requested a game against Yashiro to decide the true third representative for Japan. Yashiro officially joined the Hokuto team after defeating Ochi in this game.
In the Hokuto Cup, Yashiro was appointed as Japan's third seat, facing Zhao Shii of China and later Hong Suyong of Korea. Although he lost both games, he was acknowledged by Japanese and international professionals alike as a powerful player.
Yashiro's style is considered offbeat and even reckless, as he frequently experiments with unconventional moves, such as Tengen and 5-5 openings, which are rarely used due to their inherent risks. However, Kurata comments that Yashiro's strength isn't sufficient to consistently play at that level, evidenced by his devastating loss to the superior Hikaru when he started their game with a 5-5 opening.
