{"id":73995,"date":"2026-10-20T16:44:07","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T07:44:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=73995"},"modified":"2026-10-20T16:44:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T07:44:09","slug":"masahiro-sakurai-included-in-50-beautiful-japanese-people-of-the-showa-centennial-alongside-former-emperor-of-japan-ryuichi-sakamoto-and-other-influential-figures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/masahiro-sakurai-included-in-50-beautiful-japanese-people-of-the-showa-centennial-alongside-former-emperor-of-japan-ryuichi-sakamoto-and-other-influential-figures\/","title":{"rendered":"Masahiro Sakurai included in \u201c50 Beautiful Japanese People of the Showa Centennial\u201d alongside former Emperor of Japan, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and other influential figures"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Game designer Masahiro Sakurai announced<\/a> on X on October 19 that he was recently featured in the \u201c50 Beautiful Japanese People of the Showa Centennial\u201d special by literary magazine Bungei Shunju. Sakurai said he was honored to be included among so many influential Japanese figures, with the list including Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko, late composer and musician Ryuichi Sakamoto, and professional baseball player Shohei Ohtani.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bungei Shunju\u2019s \u201c50 Beautiful Japanese People\u201d is a recurring special that features Japanese individuals who \u201cdo not live solely for themselves, were not swayed by self-interest, upheld their principles, and lived with integrity.\u201d Previous editions featured the likes of pianist and composer Rentaro Taki, business magnate Shibusawa Eiichi, and businessman Jiro Shirasu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sakurai\u2019s work as a game creator and designer spans decades. After his tenure at HAL Laboratory (during which he created the popular Kirby and Super Smash Bros. franchises), he co-developed several Nintendo console titles under his own company, Sora Ltd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outside of game development, Sakurai served as the author of a weekly Famitsu magazine column called \u201cMasahiro Sakurai\u2019s Thoughts on Games\u201d from 2003 to 2021. This paved the way for Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games<\/a>, a YouTube channel in which he reflects on his work in the game industry and offers advice about game development and creative work in general. All of the content on the channel was self-funded by Sakurai and produced without monetization in mind<\/a>. He made all of his knowledge free in hopes of leaving something of value behind and making \u201ca donation and contribution to the games industry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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