Maki Kaji
Maki Kaji (鍜治 真起, Kaji Maki, 8 October 1951[1]– 10 August 2021)[2] was the president of Nikoli Co., Ltd., a Japanese puzzle manufacturer. He has been frequently called "the father of Sudoku" for his role in popularizing the number game.[3][4] He passed at the age of 69 years due to bile duct cancer.[5]
Early life
Kaji was born in Sapporo[6], Hokkaido in 1951.[7] He studied literature at Keio University, but dropped out in his first year.[8] After a succession of jobs including being a roadie, a waiter and a construction worker, he started a publishing business.[8]
Career
In 1980 he launched a quarterly puzzle magazine called Nikoli,[9] naming the company after a race horse that had won the 1980 2000 Guineas Stakes race in Ireland.[10][8] Three years later in 1983, he founded a company under the same name.[7]
The number game Sudoku appeared in early issues of Nikoli.[9] After the game spread to Britain[11][12] and the United States,[10] it became wildly popular.[9]
He had invented or introduced various other puzzle games such as Masyu and sold 50,000 copies of his puzzle magazine Nikoli four times a year.
References
- ^ Albeck-Ripka, Livia; Ueno, Hisako (17 August 2021). "Maki Kaji, 'Godfather of Sudoku,' Dies at 69". The New York Times. New York. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
- ^ 数独、名付け親の鍜治真起氏死去数字を埋めるパズルゲーム (in Japanese)
- ^ "'Father of Sudoku' puzzles next move". bbc.co.uk. 13 June 2007.
- ^ "Japan's 'father of Sudoku' Maki Kaji dead at 69". www.thenews.com.pk. 17 August 2021.
- ^ admin1 (17 August 2021). "Maki Kaji, creator of Sudoku puzzle passes away". ByScoop. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Albeck-Ripka, Livia; Ueno, Hisako (17 August 2021). "Maki Kaji, 'Godfather of Sudoku,' Dies at 69". The New York Times. New York. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
- ^ a b "Sudoku maker Maki Kaji, who saw life's joy in puzzles, dies". AP NEWS. 17 August 2021.
- ^ a b c McNeill, David. "Kaji Maki: First he gave us sudoku". apjjf.org.
- ^ a b c Bellos, Alex (2010). Here's Looking at Euclid: A Surprising Excursion Through the Astonishing World of Math. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4165-9634-9.
- ^ a b "Correction attached to "Inside Japan's Puzzle Palace"". The New York Times. 21 March 2007.
- ^ Smith, David (15 May 2005). "So you thought Sudoku came from the Land of the Rising Sun ..." The Observer. Retrieved 13 June 2008.
The puzzle gripping the nation actually began at a small New York magazine
- ^ Devlin, Keith (28–29 January 2012). "The Numbers Game (book review of Taking Sudoku Seriously by Jason Rosenhouse et al.)". The Wall Street Journal. Weekend Edition. p. C5.
External links
- [1] Independent (UK) newspaper article on Maki Kaji
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