Maki Kaji Explained

Birth Date:8 October 1951
Birth Place:Sapporo, Japan
Death Place:Tokyo, Japan

was a Japanese businessman who was the president of Nikoli, a puzzle manufacturer. He is widely known as "the father of Sudoku" for his role in popularizing the number game.[1] [2]

Early life

Kaji was born in Sapporo on 8 October 1951.[3] [4] His father worked as an engineer at a telecom company; his mother was employed by a kimono shop. Kaji attended Shakujii High School in his hometown. He later studied literature at Keio University, but dropped out during his first year.[3] [5] After a succession of jobs including being a roadie, a waiter and a construction worker, he started a publishing business.[5]

Career

Kaji launched a quarterly puzzle magazine in 1980 called Nikoli,[6] together with two friends from his childhood.[3] They named the magazine after a race horse that had won the 1980 2000 Guineas Stakes race in Ireland. Three years later, he founded a company under the same name.[4] The magazine, the company's main product, grew to have 50,000 quarterly readers.

The number game Sudoku appeared in early issues of Nikoli.[6] He formulated the name "Sudoku" while he was scrambling to get to a horse race.[3] [7] He shortened it from Suuji wa dokushin ni kagiru ("numbers should be single") at the urging of his fellow workers.[7] After the game spread to Britain[8] [9] and the United States,[10] it became wildly popular.[6]

Kaji also invented or introduced various other puzzle games, such as Masyu.[11] He resigned as head of Nikoli on 31 July 2021,[12] ten days before his death.[3] [13] He was succeeded as president by Nikoli's editor in chief, Yoshinao Anpuku.[12]

Personal life

Kaji was married to Naomi until his death. Together, they had two children.[3]

Kaji died on 10 August 2021 at his home in Tokyo at age 69, from bile duct cancer.[3] [14] Nikoli's staff held a memorial gathering for him on 2 November in Tokyo.[15]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 'Father of Sudoku' puzzles next move . bbc.co.uk . 13 June 2007.
  2. Web site: Japan's 'father of Sudoku' Maki Kaji dead at 69 . www.thenews.com.pk . 17 August 2021.
  3. News: Albeck-Ripka. Livia. Ueno. Hisako. 17 August 2021. Maki Kaji, 'Godfather of Sudoku,' Dies at 69. The New York Times. New York. 17 August 2021.
  4. Web site: Sudoku maker Maki Kaji, who saw life's joy in puzzles, dies . AP NEWS . 17 August 2021.
  5. Web site: McNeill . David . Kaji Maki: First he gave us sudoku . apjjf.org. 2 May 2007 .
  6. Book: Bellos . Alex . Here's Looking at Euclid: A Surprising Excursion Through the Astonishing World of Math . 2010 . Simon and Schuster . 978-1-4165-9634-9 .
  7. News: Sudoku: Maki Kaji, puzzle enthusiast, dies aged 69. 17 August 2021. 17 August 2021. BBC News.
  8. News: So you thought Sudoku came from the Land of the Rising Sun .... David . Smith . The Observer . 15 May 2005 . 13 June 2008 . The puzzle gripping the nation actually began at a small New York magazine.
  9. News: Devlin . Keith . The Numbers Game (book review of Taking Sudoku Seriously by Jason Rosenhouse et al.) . . Weekend Edition . C5 . 29 January 2012.
  10. News: Correction attached to "Inside Japan's Puzzle Palace" . The New York Times . 21 March 2007.
  11. Web site: Times . Martin Fackler the New York . Sudoku's successors? . OrlandoSentinel.com. 22 March 2007 .
  12. Web site: Nikoli. 3 June 2024 .
  13. News: Japan's Kaji, the "godfather of Sudoku," dies at 69. Tim. Kelly. Elaine. Lies. 16 August 2021. 16 August 2021. Reuters.
  14. Web site: Scottie Andrew. Maki Kaji, the 'godfather of Sudoku,' dies at 69. 18 August 2021. CNN. 17 August 2021 .
  15. Web site: Remember meeting of Maki Kaji | nikoli. 29 September 2021 .

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