Ex-Nintendo boss goes back to his roots

TOKYO--According to the Kyoto Journal, former Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi, age 76, will become the president of the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu Project foundation. The foundation is dedicated to promoting the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, an anthology of 100 short poems by 100 different Japanese poets written between the 7th and 13th century.

The Hyakunin Isshu is also the basis for a traditional card game where a participant reads the first half of a poem and other players must find the correct card with the second half of the poem written on it. (Gamers will recall that Nintendo Co. Ltd. was started as a playing card manufacturer.) The foundation hopes that the promotion of the Hyakunin Isshu will result in greater awareness of the poems, and that it also is responsible for encouraging more tourists to visit Kyoto.

The foundation will be run on a budget of approximately 1 billion yen ($9.1 million), most which will be contributed by Yamauchi. The project will begin by establishing a museum dedicated to the Hyakunin Isshu in the Sagano district of Kyoto, where the anthology is said to been collated. The foundation is also planning a tour throughout Japan to promote the Hyakunin Isshu card games. Although no details were given, there are also plans of developing a software application themed to the Hyakunin Isshu.

"When thinking about Kyoto, I felt we need more tourism attractions," Yamauchi recently said. "The Ogura Hyakunin Isshu Project has a wonderful vision, so I decided to give it my full support."