Manga Creator Go Nagai, Dragon Quest Creator Yuji Horii Inducted Into Order of the Rising Sun – News
The Japanese government has honored two of the country’s most influential creative figures with the Order of the Rising Sun Award, Gold Rays with Rosette. Manga legend Go Nagai and Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii were named among the 3,963 recipients of the annual Autumn Conferment of Decorations by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. A ceremony celebrating the awards is scheduled for November 11.
Go Nagai made his debut as a manga artist in 1967 with Meakashi Polikichi and went on to create a remarkable string of genre defining works including Cutie Honey, Devilman, Mazinger Z, Getter Robo, and Harenchi Gakuen. He has remained active in recent years, continuing his ongoing Devilman Saga manga and also writing Gekiman!, an autobiographical series documenting the creation of his most celebrated titles.
Yuji Horii was born in 1954 in Hyogo and won a game programming contest from Enix in 1982. The first Dragon Quest game launched in 1986, and the series has since sold over 83 million units worldwide. In Japan, Dragon Quest became a genuine cultural touchstone, with its designs, monsters, and mechanics woven into the fabric of popular culture and serving as the definitive image of the role playing game genre. Horii received a commendation from Japan’s Commissioner for Cultural Affairs the prior year.
Composer Joe Hisaishi, known for his work on Spirited Away, Nausicaä, and My Neighbor Totoro, received this same honor the year before.
My take: It is genuinely moving to see both Nagai and Horii recognized this way. Their work has shaped how generations of people around the world understand storytelling, adventure, and heroism. Long overdue and very well deserved.
