Who Invented the QR Code? (The Japanese Board Game Inspiration)

The Everyday Scan

Today, QR codes are absolutely everywhere. Whether you are scanning a menu at a restaurant in Los Angeles, paying for groceries, or checking in for a flight, it is hard to imagine modern life without them. But did you know that this globally essential technology is not from Silicon Valley, but was actually born in Japan in the 1990s?

The “Go” Board Inspiration

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In 1994, a Japanese engineer named Masahiro Hara was working for a Toyota subsidiary. He needed a way to track car parts on the factory line more efficiently because standard barcodes couldn’t hold enough information, especially complex Kanji characters. During his lunch break, Hara was playing “Go” (Igo)—a traditional Japanese board game with black and white stones on a grid. Staring at the chaotic pattern of the stones, he had a “Eureka!” moment. He realized that a 2D grid of black and white squares could hold 200 times more data than a standard barcode!

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The Gift to the World

Hara successfully created the “Quick Response” (QR) code, which could be scanned from any angle at lightning speed. But the real reason it became a global phenomenon is what his company did next: they generously released the patent to the public for free. So, the next time you scan a code, remember you are using a brilliant piece of Japanese engineering inspired by an ancient board game!