Japanese Grandma Teaches Herself How to Code, Makes App From Scratch

February 28, 2017

One 81-year-old Japanese woman will put any young coders, software engineers, and programmers to shame.

In 2014, Masako Wakamiya had the privilege of speaking at TedxTokyo. There, she revealed that after her retirement at the age of 60, she splurged on buying a computer to keep herself busy while taking care of her mother at home. Little did she know that this was the beginning of another chapter of her life.

Ten years later, her mother died and that proved to be a turning point. Her computer that once served as a form of entertainment became a tool for her to create. She conceptualized “Excel Art” which highlighted creating patterns and designs using Excel.

Eventually, Masako studied programming for six months and decided to make her own application from scratch.

The cool Japanese grandma made a game called “Hinadan” which is already available for download, according to Rocket News 24. The game was inspired by the Girl’s Day celebration in Japan where display stands are decorated with dolls dressed in the style of the Heian era.

Players must position 12 dolls correctly to advance in another level, but because the game relies on one’s knowledge about the festival, Masako provides guidance to make playing as enjoyable as possible.

During her speech at TedxTokyo, she reminded everyone in the audience to “enjoy the digital life” and that no one is too old to enjoy and make use of the technology that we have today.

Clearly, this grandma proves that you are never too old to get in the game.

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