Miyamoto

Miyamoto is a Japanese surname written 宮本. The first character 宮 means “shrine” or “palace,” and 本 means “origin” or “base,” so the name is often interpreted as “origin of the shrine” or “base of the temple.” The surname is relatively common in Japan and appears across various professions.

Notable individuals with the surname include Shigeru Miyamoto (born 1952), a prominent video game designer and producer at Nintendo. As a leading figure in the company’s development, he is credited with conceptualizing and directing games and franchises such as Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and Donkey Kong, and he has been influential in shaping modern video game design.

Miyamoto Musashi (c. 1584–1645) is another well-known bearer of the name. Born Miyamoto Musashi, he became a legendary swordsman and author of The Book of Five Rings, renowned for his two-sword fighting style and his writings on strategy and philosophy.

The surname Miyamoto is widely used in Japan and among Japanese communities worldwide. It appears across diverse fields and is part of a broader set of Japanese family names derived from local geographic or temple-related origins.