Editing Shogi (section)

=== Drops ===
[[File:Shogi S09 3.jpg|thumb|Traditional piece stands for pieces in hand]]
[[File:Shogi S09 1.jpg|thumb|Piece stands next to shogi board]]

Captured pieces are retained '''in hand''' and can be brought back into play under the capturing player's control. The Japanese term for ''piece(s) in hand'' is either 持ち駒 ''mochigoma'' or 手駒 ''tegoma.'' On any turn, instead of moving a piece on the board, a player may select a piece in hand and place it – unpromoted side up and facing the opposing side – on any empty square. The piece is then one of that player's active pieces on the board and can be moved accordingly. This is called ''dropping'' the piece, or simply, a ''drop''. A drop counts as a complete move.

A drop cannot capture a piece, nor does dropping within the promotion zone result in immediate promotion. Capture and/or promotion may occur normally, however, on subsequent moves of the piece.

'''Restrictions.''' There are three restrictions on dropping pieces; the last two of these apply only to pawns.

# '''Piece with No Moves''' ({{langx|ja|[[:ja:行き所のない駒|行き所のない駒]]}} ''ikidokorononaikoma''): Pawns, lances and knights may not be dropped onto the last (9th) rank, and knights may not be dropped onto the penultimate (8th) rank; this is because such dropped pieces would have no legal moves on subsequent turns (as they can only move in the forward direction).
# '''Two Pawns''' ({{langx|ja|[[:ja:二歩|二歩]]}} ''nifu''): A pawn may not be dropped onto a file (column) containing another unpromoted pawn of the same player (promoted pawns do not count). 
# '''Drop Pawn Mate''' ({{langx|ja|[[:ja:打ち歩詰め|打ち歩詰め]]}} ''uchifuzume''): A pawn may not be dropped to give an immediate [[checkmate]]. (This rule only applies specifically to pawns, drops ''and'' checkmates − to clarify, a player ''may'' deliver an immediate checkmate by dropping a non-pawn piece, a player ''may'' checkmate a king with a pawn that is already on the board, and a pawn ''may'' be dropped to give an immediate [[Check (chess)|check]] as long as it does not also result in checkmate.)

A corollary of the second restriction is that a player with an unpromoted pawn on every file is unable to drop a pawn anywhere. For this reason, it is common to sacrifice a pawn in order to gain flexibility for drops.

Captured pieces are typically kept on a wooden stand (駒台 ''komadai)'' which is traditionally placed so that its bottom-left corner aligns with the bottom-right corner of the board from the perspective of each player. It is not permissible to hide pieces from full view.

It is common for players to swap bishops, which oppose each other across the board, early in the game. This leaves each player with a bishop in hand to be dropped later. The ability for drops in shogi gives the game tactical richness and complexity. The fact that no piece ever goes entirely out of play accounts for the rarity of draws.