It’s an enormous honor for the storied creator.
Video game developer Shigeru Miyamoto needs no introduction at this point. His career, which now spans decades, has been incalculably influential on video games. Achievements like Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Pikmin, and much more besides have delighted fans around the world, while the ideas he has generated have inspired countless people to become developers, themselves. The visionary designer is up there with the likes of Walt Disney and Stan Lee, as far as many fans are concerned.
Now, in Miyamoto’s homeland of Japan, the creator has been honored in a landmark way. On October 23, 2026, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology announced Miyamoto as one of the recipients of the Kobayashi Museum of Art’s Order of Culture award. This prestigious honor dates back to a decree from Prime Minister Hiroyuki Hirota on February 11, 1937. It is given to “those who have remarkable accomplishments in the development and improvement of Japanese culture such as science, technology, academics and arts.”
In typical Miyamoto fashion, the designer said he was “embarrassed” to receive the award and pointed out that he must work with others to make games, thus attributing his success to collaborating with his peers. He says a number of different things, but this nugget is worth highlighting:
Recently, there have been a lot of anniversaries, such as the 40th anniversary of Zelda , and I myself have been introducing myself as having “been making games for 45 years.” However, when I think about it, I joined Nintendo in 1977 and immediately started working on games, so it’s actually been 50 years. It’s easier to count, so I ‘ll talk about it as “50 years” this time.
Fifty years ago, I became involved with “games,” a medium that was barely tangible at the time, and I’ve been able to work in this field ever since. I think I’m receiving this kind of treatment because I was there from the very beginning, and I feel like I’ve had a very lucky life.
Congratulations to Miyamoto-san for such an achievement. It speaks voleumes about the legacy of his work and what an esteemed creator he is.
Source: Denfaminico Gamer + Nippon