Akasaki

Akasaki is a Japanese surname and toponym. In common usage it is written 赤崎, with the characters meaning “red” and “promontory” or “cape.” The name likely originated from geographic features such as red-colored promontories along coastlines, and it remains in use as both a family name and a place-name component across Japan.

As a surname, Akasaki occurs among Japanese families. One widely known bearer is Isamu Akasaki (1929–2021), a Japanese engineer and physicist who contributed to the development of the blue light-emitting diode. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2014 for the invention, shared with Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura, which enabled bright, energy-efficient lighting and displays.

As a toponym, Akasaki appears in various localities in Japan and can be part of municipal or geographic names. In such uses, the same kanji 赤崎 may indicate a coastline feature such as a promontory or cape.

Because there may be multiple uses and spellings in Japanese, readers seeking specific information about a person, place, or institution named Akasaki should consult localized sources or the relevant prefectural records.