Hiroyuki Goto recited pi from memory to 42,195 decimal places.

Quick Scoop

  • Hiroyuki Goto is a memory expert from Tokyo, Japan who became famous for his pi recitation.
  • On 18 February 1995, he recited pi to 42,195 digits at the NHK Broadcasting Centre in Tokyo.
  • This was recognized as the official world record for reciting pi from memory and was listed by Guinness.
  • His record stood for about a decade before later challengers such as Lu Chao and Akira Haraguchi pushed the digit counts even higher.

Why the number 42,195 is often mentioned

Some sources casually (and incorrectly) phrase his feat as “100,000 digits,” but more detailed records and Guinness-related reports consistently give 42,195 decimal places as his verified performance.

So if you’re answering “how many digits of pi did Hiroyuki Goto recite from memory,” the precise, record-accurate answer is: 42,195 digits.

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TL;DR: Hiroyuki Goto recited pi from memory to 42,195 digits in 1995, setting a world record at the time.

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