# List of Kyoto Prize winners

This is a list of Kyoto Prize winners, awarded annually by the Inamori Foundation.

## Basic sciences

Source: Kyoto Prize
| Year | Laureate | Laureate | Country | | |
| 1985 | | Claude Elwood Shannon | United States | 1916–2001 | Mathematical sciences |
| 1986 | | George Evelyn Hutchinson | United States | 1903–1991 | Biological sciences |
| 1987 | | Jan Hendrik Oort | Netherlands | 1900–1992 | Earth and planetary sciences, astronomy and astrophysics |
| 1988 | | Avram Noam Chomsky | United States | born 1928 | Cognitive science |
| 1989 | | Izrail Moiseevich Gelfand | Soviet Union | 1913–2009 | Mathematical sciences |
| 1990 | | Jane Goodall | United Kingdom | born 1934 | Biological sciences |
| 1991 | | Edward Norton Lorenz | United States | 1917–2008 | Earth and planetary sciences, astronomy and astrophysics |
| 1992 | | Yasutomi Nishizuka | Japan | 1932–2004 | Life sciences |
| 1993 | | William Donald Hamilton | United Kingdom | 1936–2000 | Biological sciences |
| 1994 | | André Weil | France | 1906–1998 | Mathematical sciences |
| 1995 | | Chūshirō Hayashi | Japan | 1920–2010 | Earth and planetary sciences, astronomy and astrophysics |
| 1996 | | Mario Renato Capecchi | United States | born 1937 | Life sciences |
| 1997 | | Daniel Hunt Janzen | United States | born 1939 | Biological sciences |
| 1998 | | Kiyoshi Itô | Japan | 1915–2008 | Mathematical sciences |
| 1999 | | Walter Heinrich Munk | United States | 1917–2019 | Earth and planetary sciences, astronomy and astrophysics |
| 2000 | | Walter Jakob Gehring | Switzerland | 1939–2014 | Life sciences |
| 2001 | | John Maynard Smith | United Kingdom | 1920–2004 | Biological sciences |
| 2002 | | Mikhail Gromov | France | born 1943 | Mathematical sciences |
| 2003 | | Eugene Newman Parker | United States | 1927–2022 | Earth and planetary sciences, astronomy and astrophysics |
| 2004 | | Alfred G. Knudson | United States | 1922–2016 | Life sciences |
| 2005 | | Simon Asher Levin | United States | born 1941 | Biological sciences |
| 2006 | | Hirotsugu Akaike | Japan | 1927–2009 | Mathematical sciences |
| 2007 | | Hiroo Kanamori | Japan | born 1936 | Earth and planetary sciences, astronomy and astrophysics |
| 2008 | | Anthony James Pawson | Canada / United Kingdom | 1952–2013 | Life sciences |
| 2009 | | Barbara Rosemary Grant | United Kingdom | born 1936 | Biological sciences |
| 2009 | | Peter Raymond Grant | United Kingdom | born 1936 | Biological sciences |
| 2010 | | László Lovász | Hungary | born 1948 | Mathematical sciences |
| 2011 | | Rashid Alievich Sunyaev | Russia / Germany | born 1943 | Earth and planetary sciences, astronomy and astrophysics |
| 2012 | | Yoshinori Ohsumi | Japan | born 1945 | Life sciences |
| 2013 | | Masatoshi Nei | United States | 1931–2023 | Biological sciences |
| 2014 | | Edward Witten | United States | born 1951 | Mathematical sciences |
| 2015 | | Michel Mayor | Switzerland | born 1942 | Earth and planetary sciences, astronomy and astrophysics |
| 2016 | | Tasuku Honjo | Japan | born 1942 | Life sciences |
| 2017 | | Graham Farquhar | Australia | born 1947 | Biological sciences |
| 2018 | | Masaki Kashiwara | Japan | born 1947 | Mathematical sciences |
| 2019 | | James Gunn | United States | born 1938 | Earth and Planetary Sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics |
| 2020 | No award because of COVID-19 pandemic | No award because of COVID-19 pandemic | No award because of COVID-19 pandemic | No award because of COVID-19 pandemic | No award because of COVID-19 pandemic |
| 2021 | | Robert G. Roeder | United States | born 1942 | Life sciences |
| 2022 | | Bryan Grenfell | United Kingdom | born 1954 | Biological sciences |
| 2023 | | Elliott H. Lieb | United States | born 1932 | Mathematical sciences |
| 2024 | | Paul F. Hoffman | Canada | born 1941 | Earth and Planetary Sciences, Astronomy and Astrophysics |

## Advanced technology

Source: Kyoto Prize
| Year | Laureate | Laureate | Country | | |
| 1985 | | Rudolf Emil Kálmán | Hungary / United States | 1930–2016 | Electronics |
| 1986 | | Nicole Marthe Le Douarin | France | born 1930 | Biotechnology and medical technology |
| 1987 | | Morris Cohen | United States | 1911–2005 | Materials science and engineering |
| 1988 | | John McCarthy | United States | 1927–2011 | Information science |
| 1989 | | Amos E. Joel, Jr. | United States | 1918–2008 | Electronics |
| 1990 | | Sydney Brenner | United Kingdom | 1927–2019 | Biotechnology and medical technology |
| 1991 | | Michael Szwarc | United States | 1909–2000 | Materials science and engineering |
| 1992 | | Maurice Vincent Wilkes | United Kingdom | 1913–2010 | Information science |
| 1993 | | Jack St. Clair Kilby | United States | 1923–2005 | Electronics |
| 1994 | | Paul Christian Lauterbur | United States | 1929–2007 | Biotechnology and medical technology |
| 1995 | | George William Gray | United Kingdom | 1926–2013 | Materials science and engineering |
| 1996 | | Donald Ervin Knuth | United States | born 1938 | Information science |
| 1997 | | Stanley Mazor | United States | born 1941 | Electronics |
| 1997 | | Marcian Edward Hoff Jr. | United States | born 1937 | Electronics |
| 1997 | | Federico Faggin | Italy | born 1941 | Electronics |
| 1997 | | Masatoshi Shima | Japan | born 1943 | Electronics |
| 1998 | | Kurt Wüthrich | Switzerland | born 1938 | Biotechnology and medical technology |
| 1999 | | W. David Kingery | United States | 1926–2000 | Materials science and engineering |
| 2000 | | Sir Antony Hoare | United Kingdom | born 1934 | Information science |
| 2001 | | Morton B. Panish | United States | born 1929 | Electronics |
| 2001 | | Izuo Hayashi | Japan | 1922–2005 | Electronics |
| 2001 | | Zhores Ivanovich Alferov | Russia | 1930–2019 | Electronics |
| 2002 | | Leroy Edward Hood | United States | born 1938 | Biotechnology and medical technology |
| 2003 | | George McClelland Whitesides | United States | born 1939 | Materials science and engineering |
| 2004 | | Alan Curtis Kay | United States | born 1940 | Information science |
| 2005 | | George H. Heilmeier | United States | 1936–2014 | Electronics |
| 2006 | | Leonard Herzenberg | United States | 1931–2013 | Biotechnology and medical technology |
| 2007 | | Hiroo Inokuchi | Japan | 1927–2014 | Materials science and engineering |
| 2008 | | Richard M. Karp | United States | born 1935 | Information science |
| 2009 | | Isamu Akasaki | Japan | 1929–2021 | Electronics |
| 2010 | | Shinya Yamanaka | Japan | born 1962 | Biotechnology and medical technology |
| 2011 | | John Werner Cahn | United States | 1928–2016 | Materials science and engineering |
| 2012 | | Ivan Edward Sutherland | United States | born 1938 | Information science |
| 2013 | | Robert H. Dennard | United States | born 1932 | Electronics |
| 2014 | | Robert S. Langer | United States | born 1948 | Biotechnology and medical technology |
| 2015 | | Toyoki Kunitake | Japan | born 1936 | Materials science and engineering |
| 2016 | | Takeo Kanade | Japan | born 1945 | Information science |
| 2017 | | Takashi Mimura | Japan | born 1944 | Electronics |
| 2018 | | Karl Deisseroth | United States | born 1971 | Biotechnology and medical technology |
| 2019 | | Ching Wan Tang | Hong Kong | born 1947 | Materials Science and Engineering |
| 2020 | No award because of COVID-19 pandemic | No award because of COVID-19 pandemic | No award because of COVID-19 pandemic | No award because of COVID-19 pandemic | No award because of COVID-19 pandemic |
| 2021 | | Andrew Chi-Chih Yao | China / United States | born 1946 | Information science |
| 2022 | | Carver Mead | United States | born 1934 | Electronics |
| 2023 | | Ryuzo Yanagimachi | Japan | born 1928 | Biotechnology and medical technology |
| 2024 | | John Pendry | United Kingdom | born 1943 | Materials science and engineering |

## Arts and philosophy

Source: Kyoto Prize
| Year | Laureate | Laureate | Country | | |
| 1985 | | Olivier Messiaen | France | 1908–1992 | Music |
| 1986 | | Isamu Noguchi | United States | 1904–1988 | Arts |
| 1987 | | Andrzej Wajda | Poland | 1926–2016 | Theater, cinema |
| 1988 | | Paul Thieme | West Germany | 1905–2001 | Thought and Ethics |
| 1989 | | John Cage | United States | 1912–1992 | Music |
| 1990 | | Renzo Piano | Italy | born 1937 | Arts |
| 1991 | | Peter Stephen Paul Brook | United Kingdom | 1925–2022 | Theater, cinema |
| 1992 | | Karl Raimund Popper | United Kingdom | 1902–1994 | Thought and Ethics |
| 1993 | | Witold Lutosławski | Poland | 1913–1994 | Music |
| 1994 | | Akira Kurosawa | Japan | 1910–1998 | Theater, cinema |
| 1995 | | Roy Lichtenstein | United States | 1923–1997 | Arts |
| 1996 | | Willard Van Orman Quine | United States | 1908–2000 | Thought and ethics |
| 1997 | | Iannis Xenakis | France | 1922–2001 | Music |
| 1998 | | Nam June Paik | United States | 1932–2006 | Arts |
| 1999 | | Maurice Béjart | France | 1927–2007 | Theater, cinema |
| 2000 | | Paul Ricœur | France | 1913–2005 | Thought and Ethics |
| 2001 | | György Ligeti | Austria / Hungary | 1923–2006 | Music |
| 2002 | | Tadao Ando | Japan | born 1941 | Arts |
| 2003 | | Tamao Yoshida | Japan | 1919–2006 | Theater, cinema |
| 2004 | | Jürgen Habermas | Germany | born 1929 | Thought and Ethics |
| 2005 | | Nikolaus Harnoncourt | Austria | 1929–2016 | Music |
| 2006 | | Issey Miyake | Japan | born 1938 | Arts |
| 2007 | | Pina Bausch | Germany | 1940–2009 | Theater, cinema |
| 2008 | | Charles Margrave Taylor | Canada | born 1931 | Thought and Ethics |
| 2009 | | Pierre Boulez | France | 1925–2016 | Music |
| 2010 | | William Kentridge | South Africa | born 1955 | Arts |
| 2011 | | Tamasaburo Bando V | Japan | born 1950 | Theater, cinema |
| 2012 | | Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak | India | born 1942 | Thought and Ethics |
| 2013 | | Cecil Taylor | United States | 1929–2018 | Music |
| 2014 | | Fukumi Shimura | Japan | born 1924 | Arts |
| 2015 | | John Neumeier | United States | born 1942 | Theater, Cinema |
| 2016 | | Martha Craven Nussbaum | United States | born 1947 | Thought and Ethics |
| 2017 | | Richard Taruskin | United States | 1945–2022 | Music history |
| 2018 | | Joan Jonas | United States | born 1936 | Arts |
| 2019 | | Ariane Mnouchkine | France | born 1939 | Arts and Philosophy |
| 2020 | No award because of COVID-19 pandemic | No award because of COVID-19 pandemic | No award because of COVID-19 pandemic | No award because of COVID-19 pandemic | No award because of COVID-19 pandemic |
| 2021 | | Bruno Latour | France | 1947–2022 | Thought and Ethics |
| 2022 | | Zakir Hussain | India | born 1951 | Music |
| 2023 | | Nalini Malani | India | born 1946 | Arts |
| 2024 | | William Forsythe | United States | born 1949 | Theater, Cinema |