'Father of Mario' Miyamoto Shigeru becomes first game designer to receive Japan's Order of Culture

Miyamoto Shigeru, the Nintendo representative director who created the Super Mario video game character, has become the first person from the gaming industry to receive Japan's Order of Culture.

According to Kyodo News, the Japanese government announced Friday that it had selected eight recipients of this year's Order of Culture, including Miyamoto and Soai Kenso, an emeritus professor at Tokyo University of Science who recently received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Miyamoto created the character "Jumpman" as the protagonist of the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong.

He later renamed the character Mario — modeled after an Italian — and led the design and production of the game series "Super Mario Bros.," earning him the nickname "the father of Super Mario."

Released in 1985, the game was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the best-selling video game of all time.

Speaking at a press conference at Nintendo's headquarters in Kyoto, Miyamoto said he was deeply grateful that gaming had become woven into everyday life as a recognized form of culture, with three generations — from grandparents to parents to children — all enjoying games together.