Kodaira

Kodaira is a Japanese surname that appears in various contexts in Japan. The most prominent bearer in mathematics is Kunihiko Kodaira (1906–1990), a Japanese mathematician whose work established foundational aspects of complex geometry and algebraic geometry.

Kodaira's main contributions lie in the theory of complex manifolds and their applications to algebraic geometry. He received the Fields Medal in 1954 for his work. He helped develop modern approaches to classifying complex manifolds and the use of holomorphic forms in studying projective varieties, influencing developments in several complex variables and geometry.

Several fundamental results bear his name: the Kodaira dimension, a birational invariant used to classify varieties; the Kodaira vanishing theorem, providing vanishing results for certain cohomology groups; the Kodaira embedding theorem, which gives criteria for embedding compact complex manifolds into projective space; and the Kodaira–Spencer deformation theory, describing deformations of complex structures. He also contributed to the Enriques–Kodaira classification of complex surfaces.

Beyond his own work, Kodaira’s surname appears in other mathematical contexts and, more generally, as a Japanese family name. The name is associated with several eponymous theorems and concepts in geometry and algebraic geometry, reflecting Kunihiko Kodaira’s lasting influence on the field.