Asahi Prize
The Asahi Prize, established in 1929, is an award presented by the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun and Asahi Shimbun Foundation to honor individuals and groups that have made outstanding accomplishments in the fields of arts and academics and have greatly contributed to the development and progress of Japanese culture and society at large.
The Asahi Prize was created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the foundation of Asahi Shimbun. It is recognized today as one of the most authoritative private awards.
Notable winners
Past prize winners include the following.Arts
- Tsubouchi Shōyō, novelist, 1929
- Taikan Yokoyama, artist, 1933
- Jigoro Kano, founder of judo, 1935
- Shimazaki Toson, novelist, 1935
- Ryōhei Koiso, painter, 1939
- Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, novelist, 1948
- NHK Symphony Orchestra, 1951
- Mashiho Chiri, 1954
- Eiji Yoshikawa, novelist, 1955
- Shikō Munakata, artist, 1964
- Jirō Osaragi, writer, 1964
- Akira Kurosawa, film director, 1965
- Haruko Sugimura, actress, 1968
- Ryōtarō Shiba, novelist, 1982
- Ineko Sata, writer, 1983
- Yasushi Inoue, novelist, 1984
- Seiji Ozawa, conductor, 1985
- Osamu Tezuka, manga artist, 1987
- Arata Isozaki, architect, 1988
- Migishi Setsuko, artist, 1989
- Seichō Matsumoto, novelist, 1989
- Shuhei Fujisawa, novelist, 1993
- Fumihiko Maki, architect, 1993
- Tadao Ando, architect, 1994
- Kenzaburō Ōe, novelist, 1994
- Shuntaro Tanikawa, poet, 1995
- Yoji Yamada, film director, 1996
- Donald Keene, writer, 1997
- Makoto Ōoka, poet, 1997
- Yayoi Kusama, artist, 2000
- Hayao Miyazaki, film director, 2001
- Ai Nagai, playwright, 2005
- Haruki Murakami, novelist, 2006
- Shigeru Mizuki, manga artist, 2008
- Tadanori Yokoo, artist, 2011
- Takarazuka Revue, 2013
- Tatsuya Nakadai, actor, 2013
- Taichi Yamada, screenwriter, 2014
- Shigeru Ban, architect, 2015
- Tōta Kaneko, poet 2015
- Kazushi Ono, conductor 2015
- Moto Hagio, manga artist, 2016
- Jakucho Setouchi novelist, 2017
- Yoko Tawada, writer, 2019
- Haruomi Hosono. bass player, 2020
- Daidō Moriyama, photographer, 2020
- Machi Tawara, poet, 2021
- Miyako Ishiuchi, photographer, 2022
- Kojin Karatani, philosopher and critic, 2022
- Nobuko Imai, violist, 2024
- Hiroyuki Sanada, actor, 2024
- Kazuyo Sejima, architect, 2025
Science
- Yoshio Nishina, physicist, 1944
- Shinichiro Tomonaga, physicist, 1946
- Shoichi Sakata, physicist, 1948
- Tomizo Yoshida, pathologist, 1951
- Kiyoshi Oka, mathematician, 1953
- Hamao Umezawa, scientist, 1958
- Leo Esaki, physicist, 1959
- Kenkichi Iwasawa, mathematician, 1959
- Osamu Hayaishi, biochemist, 1964
- Yoshimasa Hirata, chemist, 1965
- Chushiro Hayashi, astrophysicist, 1965
- Heisuke Hironaka, mathematician, 1967
- Setsuro Ebashi, biomedical scientist, 1968
- Mikio Sato, mathematician, 1969
- Reiji Okazaki, molecular biologist, 1970
- Kimishige Ishizaka, immunologist, 1973
- Kiyoshi Itô, mathematician, 1977
- Susumu Tonegawa, molecular biologist, 1981
- Tasuku Honjo, immunologist, 1981
- Hidesaburo Hanafusa, virologist, 1983
- Masaki Watanabe, orthopedic surgeon, 1983
- Jun-ichi Nishizawa, engineer, 1984
- Yasutomi Nishizuka, biochemist, 1985
- Motoo Kimura, biologist, 1986
- Akira Tonomura, physicist, 1986
- Kamiokande Project Team, 1987
- Masaki Kashiwara / Takahiro Kawai, mathematician, 1987
- Hirotsugu Akaike, statistician, 1988
- Tadamitsu Kishimoto, immunologist, 1988
- Tadatsugu Taniguchi, immunologist, 1988
- Tomisaku Kawasaki, pediatrician, 1989
- Masato Sagawa, Metallurgist, 1990
- Goro Shimura, mathematician, 1991
- Ryoji Noyori, chemist, 1992
- Masatoshi Takeichi, biologist, 1993
- Makoto Kobayashi, physicist, 1994
- Toshihide Masukawa, physicist, 1994
- Nobutaka Hirokawa, neuroscientist, 1995
- Syukuro Manabe, meteorologist, 1995
- Sumio Iijima, physicist, 1996
- Shigekazu Nagata, molecular biologist, 1997
- Super Kamiokande Project Team, 1998
- Toshio Yanagida, biophysicist, 1998
- Seiji Ogawa, physicist, 1999
- Shuji Nakamura, material scientist, 2000
- Isamu Akasaki, material scientist, 2000
- Shizuo Akira, immunologist, 2005
- Takao Kondo, biologist, 2006
- Osamu Shimomura, chemist, 2006
- Shinya Yamanaka, biomedical scientist, 2007
- Yoshinori Ohsumi, biologist, 2008
- Hayabusa Mission, 2010
- Shimon Sakaguchi, immunologist, 2011
- Hiroyuki Matsunami, engineer, 2012
- Kenji Kosaka, psychiatrist, 2013
- Kazutoshi Mori, molecular biologist, 2013
- Hiroaki Mitsuya, virologist, 2014
- Satoshi Ōmura, biochemist, 2014
- Hiraku Nakajima, mathematician, 2016
- Jaw-Shen Tsai, Taiwanese physicist, 2020
- Takurō Mochizuki, mathematician, 2020
- Keiko Torii, plant scientist, 2021
- Makoto Fujita, chemist, 2022
- Tsutomu Miyasaka, chemist, 2023
- Yoshiko Ogata, mathematical physicist, 2024
- Takashi Taniguchi, material engineer, 2024
- Kenji Watanabe, material engineer, 2024
- Masahiro Hara, engineer, 2025