Miyamoto y el premio queDtiene en vilo a la cultura japonesa

El Platforms japanese Emperor has an excellent track record: recognizing people before they become institutions. On November 3, Shigeru Miyamoto will receive the Order of Culture directly from his hands. The ceremony will place the creator of Mario alongside figures such as filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, fashion designer Issey Miyake and composer Akira Ifukube. The videogame industry has waited quite a while for its place in that company, and it will enter through the front door.

Miyamoto will be the first videogame designer to receive the distinction, described as the highest cultural honor awarded by the Japanese government. That distinction has traditionally recognized people who contributed exceptionally to the arts, sciences and culture. His inclusion brings interactive entertainment into the same official space as disciplines with a much longer history in Japan's cultural canon, a small correction to the hierarchy that often relegated games to a lower category.

A career built with other people

Miyamoto joined Nintendo in 1977 and created Mario for the Donkey Kong arcade game in 1981. From there, he became associated with franchises including The Legend of Zelda and Star Fox. In recent years, he also led Nintendo's expansion into theme parks and film production.

“I don't make videogames alone. This award is the result of teamwork with a large number of people, so I accept it on their behalf. I feel fortunate to have been there since the early days of an industry that did not yet have a defined form.”Shigeru Miyamoto

That clarification is important, because the official version of Miyamoto's story often becomes a parade of individual genius. The Japanese emperor's ceremony will place him in a lineup of cultural figures, but the award itself comes with a less glamorous and more accurate message: the industry was built collectively, during a period when nobody yet knew exactly what shape it would take. The man who created Mario knows that better than most.

• The Order of Culture is the highest cultural distinction awarded by the Japanese government.
• The ceremony will take place on November 3, Japan's Culture Day, and will be presided over by the Emperor.
• Miyamoto will be the first videogame designer to receive the honor.
• Previous recipients include Akira Kurosawa, Issey Miyake and Akira Ifukube.

The recognition also has something to say about Nintendo's trajectory. A company that began as a card-game manufacturer in Kyoto became one of the most recognizable names in global entertainment. Its characters, soundtracks and imaginary worlds crossed borders and became part of popular culture in a way that few institutions could match. The imperial nod, however late it arrives, is more than a ceremonial gesture: it is an official admission that videogames are already part of the cultural landscape.

For independent recommendations, it is worth looking beyond the usual blockbusters and paying attention to smaller studios that keep experimenting with form, narrative and interaction. The official programming likes to present a neat map of the cultural canon, but the most interesting work often appears outside it. That is also the spirit with which Miyamoto describes his own career: an industry without a fixed shape, built by many people and still open to new paths.

The September Musical, meanwhile, continues with its own schedule and its own appetite for ceremony. If a videogame designer is going to receive the highest cultural recognition in Japan, at least we can expect the soundtrack to have more than one track.