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Maki Kaji, known as the “Godfather of Sudoku,” has died at the age of 69 from bile duct cancer. Kaji did not invent Sudoku; variations of the game appeared in French newspapers in the 19th century, and modern Sudoku was created as “Number Place” by Howard Garns in 1979. However, Kaji is credited as the man that popularized the game in Japan, also contributing its name. Sudoku is short for “Suji wa Dokushin ni Kagiru,” or “Numbers should be single, a bachelor.” Maki started Nikoli, Japan’s first puzzle magazine, and in 1983, he founded the puzzle company Nikoli Co.
“Kaji-san came up with the name Sudoku and was loved by puzzle fans from all over the world. We are grateful from the bottom of our hearts for the patronage you have shown throughout his life,” Nikoli Co. said in a statement.
Kaji’s passion for puzzles took him all around the world. In total, he visited more than 30 countries throughout his lifetime. Kaji remained Nikoli Co.’s chief executive until just last month, and was succeeded by Yoshinao Anpuku.
“Our mission is to pursue Maki’s vision and possibilities,” said Anpuku.
Over the years, Nikoli’s Sudoku puzzles have been provided to more than 100 media companies. The Japanese newspaper Mainichi also credits Kaji as the man responsible for puzzle sections in bookstores, which seems to be the way that Sudoku truly took off worldwide. In 1997, New Zealand man Wayne Gould discovered a Sudoku book on a trip to Japan. Fascinated by it, Gould spent six years working on a program that could write the puzzles. In 2004, they began being published in the UK. From there, Sudoku took off worldwide, and saw a resurgence in interest in Japan.
Born in Hokkaido, Kaji was married and had two children. He died on August 10th, and a small funeral service was held exclusively for family. His former company is planning a larger memorial service, but there have been no details released by Nikoli, as of this writing.
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[H/T: Associated Press, Kotaku]