[4][5] Maruyama, however, was unable to repeat his success for a third consecutive year when he lost the 27th Shinjin-Ō match 2 games to 1 to Takeshi Fujii in 1996.
Maruyama qualified for the JSA's "Special Shogi Honor Award" for reaching this milestone.
The victory gave Maruyama his first Ginga-sen championship, and it also was the first defeat for Fujii in a tournament final since obtaining 8-crown status in September 2023.
Maruyama has received a number of awards and honors throughout his career for his accomplishments both on an off the shogi board.
[15][16] Maruyama has finished in the "Top 10" of the JSA's year-end prize money and game fee rankings [ja] seventeen times since 1993.