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湯川秀樹（ゆかわ ひでき、1907-1981）は、日本初のノーベル賞受賞者（1949年、物理学賞）。1934年に「中間子」の存在を理論的に予言し、素粒子物理学の礎を築いた。晩年は核兵器廃絶を訴え、1955年にラッセル＝アインシュタイン宣言に署名した。
Hideki Yukawa (January 23, 1907 – September 8, 1981) was a pioneering Japanese theoretical physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1949 — the first Japanese person ever to receive a Nobel Prize. Born in Tokyo and raised in Kyoto, he graduated from Kyoto Imperial University and conducted research at Osaka University and Kyoto University, where he developed his groundbreaking theory of nuclear forces.
In October 1934, Yukawa made one of the most audacious predictions in the history of physics: that a previously unknown particle of intermediate mass — which he called a “meson” — was responsible for binding protons and neutrons together inside the atomic nucleus. The idea crystallized during a late night of solitary thought. He estimated the particle’s mass to be roughly 200 times that of an electron. The theory was initially met with skepticism, but in 1947 Cecil Powell and his colleagues in England discovered the pi meson experimentally, confirming Yukawa’s prediction and transforming our understanding of nuclear physics.
After receiving the Nobel Prize, Yukawa became a passionate advocate for nuclear disarmament and world peace. In 1955 he signed the Russell–Einstein Manifesto alongside Albert Einstein, Bertrand Russell, and other leading scientists, calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons. He also participated in the founding Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs in 1957. His autobiography, “Tabibito” (The Traveler, 1958), weaves together his love of physics and his deep concern for humanity. Yukawa’s courage to imagine what no one else had seen stands as a lasting inspiration to scientists worldwide.