Dan (rank)

A Dan is a measure of advanced rank, often used in martial arts and the board game go. It usually ranges from 1 to 10, with higher numbers indicating greater skill. In martial arts, it is used for black belts only. In go or shogi, players of 1 Dan or above can be considered "masters". Dan literally means "step" in Japanese.
Composition.
Usually, the belt of a Dan martial artist will have a number of strips according to the person's rank.
Dan in Japan.
This table shows how to call dan in Japanese.
Notable players with higher dan.
Go and shogi players are usually called by their dan by media like NHK and Asahi Shinbun.