Hideo Kojima today received the annual Japan Fine Arts Ministerial Award in the Media Arts category, one of the most prestigious cultural awards in the country. Renowned game designer Hideo Kojima received the 72nd Fine Arts Minister of Education Award from the Japan Cultural Affairs Agency.
Hideo Kojima, who has worked in the video game industry for many years and has done many successful works in the video game industry, received another significant award at a ceremony held today in Japan. Kojima became the second representative of the gaming industry to receive the highest honorary award, the first from Nintendo was Shigeru Miyamoto. It is thanks to the latest Death Stranding Director’s Cut that game director Hideo Kojima received the award. Kojima Productions also noted that this is the second time a game creator has won the Minister of Education Award, the first being longtime Nintendo developer Shigeru Miyamoto in 2010.
The award was given in recognition of Kojima’s constant innovation in artistic methods that can only exist in video games. This award has created very successful works in all areas of art, so to speak. The award itself “has been given by the Agency for Cultural Affairs every year since 1950 to people who have achieved outstanding success and achievements in various fields of art and which opened up new horizons,” the tweet reads.
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I received the 72nd Minister of Education Award for Fine Arts from the Agency of Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan. Thank you very much. I have been creating games for 36 years. pic.twitter.com/Gj9aUpbFkR— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) March 15, 2022
Every year, the Agency for Cultural Affairs awards to those who have contributed to the arts. These categories include traditional arts such as theatre and literature, which the government agency expanded in 2008 by adding a media arts category. Point out that these particular awards are not limited to any artwork (. Kojima Productions announced Hideo Kojima in a press release, and an announcement page on the Japan Agency for Cultural Affairs website confirmed the 58th Anniversary Award in the Media Arts category.
In a statement from Hideo Kojima following another significant acknowledgment, Kojima said, “I am very pleased that immature game environments are highly valued as a form of cultural artistic expression. The committee also praised Hideo Kojima for his continued approach to demonstrating techniques that go beyond existing theories and can only be applied to games since his work on the Metal Gear game.
While a press release was sent detailing the award, the link has since been removed for unknown reasons. Despite the graphics and great storyline of Death Stranding, the game has been heavily criticized by some players. The first release from his independent studio Kojima Productions was 2019’s critically acclaimed Death Stranding, which received high praise from the ministerial selection committee when the decision was made to award it the Minister of Education Award.