Shigeru Miyamoto, un riconoscimiento que eleva a los videojuegos al nivel del canon cultural japonés

Shigeru Miyamoto recibirá la Orden de la Cultura de Japón el próximo 3 de noviembre, en una ceremoniaWon't Personally led by Japan’s Emperor. The award, the government’s highest cultural honor, recognizes people who have made an exceptional contribution to the arts, sciences and culture, and for the first time it will reach a video game designer.

The milestone recognizes not only the unmistakable characters and worlds associated with Miyamoto, but also the place that interactive entertainment has earned within Japanese culture. Previous recipients include filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, fashion designer Issey Miyake and composer Akira Ifukube, whose music accompanied Godzilla, bringing the video game industry into a distinction long reserved for major figures in the country’s cultural history.

A career that helped shape modern entertainment

Miyamoto joined Nintendo in 1977 and created Mario in the Donkey Kong arcade game in 1981. Since then, he became known for franchises such as The Legend of Zelda and Star Fox, and more recently led Nintendo’s expansion into theme parks and film production. His trajectory spans nearly five decades inside the company and reflects the transformation of games from a new form of entertainment into a globally influential cultural industry.

“I don’t make video games alone. This award is the result of teamwork with a great number of people, so I accept it on their behalf. I feel fortunate to have been present since the beginning of an industry that did not yet have a defined form.”Shigeru Miyamoto

That clarification is central to the significance of the honor. Miyamoto’s individual imprint is enormous, but his work also embodies a creative model based on collaboration, iteration and the integration of design, technology and storytelling. Accepting the distinction on behalf of the teams behind those projects recognizes the collective dimension of an industry frequently identified through a handful of prominent creators.

The ceremony is scheduled for November 3, Japan’s Day of the Culture, and the Emperor will personally present the awards to Miyamoto and the other honorees. The setting adds symbolic weight: a creator whose work reached audiences through screens and consoles will receive the recognition in the same institutional framework used to honor cinema, fashion and music.

• Miyamoto became the first video game designer to receive Japan’s Order of the Culture.
• Previous honorees include Akira Kurosawa, Issey Miyake and Godzilla composer Akira Ifukube.
• He joined Nintendo in 1977 and created Mario in Donkey Kong in 1981.
• The award ceremony will take place on November 3, Japan’s Day of the Culture.

In my view, the most valuable aspect of this recognition is not that it elevates one name, but that it makes visible the cultural maturity of video games. A medium born from technology and entertainment now shares a place with forms that have long shaped how societies remember and interpret themselves. For that reason, I recommend paying attention to the November 3 ceremony, but also revisiting the games that made this transformation possible.