# Kenichi Fukui

_Japanese chemist (1918–1998)_

Canonical: https://diginpl.com/people/kenichi-fukui
Last updated: 2026-10-31

> Kenichi Fukui  was a Japanese chemist. He became the first person of East Asian ancestry to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry when he won the 1981 prize with Roald Hoffmann, for their independent investigations into the mechanisms of chemical reactions. Fukui's prize-winning work focused on the role of frontier orbitals in chemical reactions: specifically that molecules share loosely bonded electrons which occupy the frontier orbitals, that is, the Highest Occupied Molecular Orbital (HOMO) and the Lowest Unoccupied Molecular Orbital (LUMO).

## Quick facts

- **Born:** 4 October 1918 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q217734#P569))
- **Place of birth:** Nara ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q217734#P19))
- **Died:** 9 January 1998 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q217734#P570))
- **Place of death:** Kyoto ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q217734#P20))
- **Citizenship:** Japan; Empire of Japan ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q217734#P27))
- **Occupation:** chemist; researcher; university teacher ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q217734#P106))
- **Education:** Kyoto University ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q217734#P69))
- **Awards:** Order of Culture; Nobel Prize in Chemistry; Order of the Rising Sun, 1st class; Person of Cultural Merit; Foreign Member of the Royal Society; Schrödinger Medal ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q217734#P166))

## Questions

**When was Kenichi Fukui born?**  
Kenichi Fukui was born on 4 October 1918 in Nara.

**Where did Kenichi Fukui study?**  
Kenichi Fukui was educated at Kyoto University.

## Related

- [Akira Suzuki](https://diginpl.com/people/akira-suzuki)
- [Akira Yoshino](https://diginpl.com/people/akira-yoshino)
- [Hideki Shirakawa](https://diginpl.com/people/hideki-shirakawa)
- [Hideki Yukawa](https://diginpl.com/people/hideki-yukawa)
- [Hiroshi Amano](https://diginpl.com/people/hiroshi-amano)
- [Isamu Akasaki](https://diginpl.com/people/isamu-akasaki)
- [Koichi Tanaka](https://diginpl.com/people/koichi-tanaka)
- [Leo Esaki](https://diginpl.com/people/leo-esaki)
- [Makoto Kobayashi](https://diginpl.com/people/makoto-kobayashi)
- [Masatoshi Koshiba](https://diginpl.com/people/masatoshi-koshiba)
- [Osamu Shimomura](https://diginpl.com/people/osamu-shimomura)
- [Ryōji Noyori](https://diginpl.com/people/ryoji-noyori)

## Sources

- [Wikipedia (English): Kenichi Fukui](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenichi_Fukui) — [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
- [Wikidata item Q217734](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q217734) — [CC0 1.0](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- [Image: Kenichi Fukui nobel.jpg by Nobel Foundation (Public domain)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kenichi_Fukui_nobel.jpg)

## Licence and attribution

Text from the Wikipedia article Kenichi Fukui, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Kenichi Fukui nobel.jpg — Nobel Foundation, Public domain.

## Cite this page

"Kenichi Fukui". DigiNepal. Last updated 31 October 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/kenichi-fukui. Retrieved 5 November 2026.