Sente / Gote

The two players of a shogi game are differentiated by who goes first in order of alternating turns:

Sente (先手 sente) - player who makes the first move (sometimes called Black), in notation described with ☗ symbol (or ⛊ on reversed diagrams).

Gote (後手 gote) - player who makes the second move (sometimes called White), in notation described with ☖ symbol (or ⛉ on reverse diagrams).

Alternatively, word sente can be used to describe a move with an initiative or a move that requires opponent's answer. E.g. 先手を取る Sente wo toru = taking the initiative.

And gote can mean the opposite, a move without initiative or being forced to answer opponent's moves. E.g. 後手を引く Gote wo hiku = "taking a backseat".

For handicap games check Uwate / Shitate.