Kumamoto University

Kumamoto University is a national university in Japan, located in the city of Kumamoto, the capital of Kumamoto Prefecture, in the Kyushu region of south-western Japan, and it is commonly abbreviated as Kumadai.熊本大學是日本的一所國立大學，位於日本西南部九州地區、熊本縣首府熊本市，常簡稱「熊大」。

It was established on 31 May 1949, when the post-war Japanese government merged five pre-war government schools of the city into a single new university, and its deeper roots reach back to the domain schools Saishunkan and Banjien founded in 1756.該校於 1949 年 5 月 31 日設立，由戰後日本政府把市內五所戰前官立學校合併為一所新大學，其更早的淵源可追溯至 1756 年創辦的藩校再春館與藩校。

A comprehensive research university with seven faculties and eight graduate schools, it enrols about eleven thousand students and is credited by OpenAlex with more than 64,000 scholarly works.作為設有七個學部與八個研究科的綜合性研究型大學，該校在校學生約一萬一千人，OpenAlex 收錄其學術成果逾 64,000 項。

History

• Kumamoto University traces its earliest origins to 1756, when the Kumamoto Domain established the domain school Saishunkan in September and the daimyō Hosokawa Shigekata founded a second school, Banjien, in July of the same year.熊本大學的淵源可追溯至 1756 年，熊本藩於當年九月設立藩校再春館，大名細川重賢又於同年七月創辦另一所藩校。
• In 1874 the forerunner of Kumamoto Teachers College was founded, giving the city one of its first modern teacher-training institutions.1874 年，熊本師範學校的前身成立，使熊本擁有當地最早的近代師資培訓機構之一。
• Kumamoto Pharmaceutical College was established in 1885 as the city's first specialised school for pharmacy.熊本藥學專門學校於 1885 年設立，是當地第一所專門培養藥學人才的學校。
• In 1887 the Fifth High School, or Dai-go kōtō gakkō, was founded and soon became a centre of higher learning for western Japan during the Meiji period.1887 年，第五高等學校成立，迅速成為明治時期日本西部的高等教育中心。
• Kumamoto Medical College was established in 1896, and Kumamoto Technical College followed in 1906, together assembling the applied and medical teaching that the new university would inherit.熊本醫學專門學校於 1896 年設立，熊本高等工業學校隨後於 1906 年成立，共同匯聚了新大學日後所承接的應用與醫學教學。
• The university's immediate precursor was founded in 1925 as a prefectural university of Kumamoto, and in 1929 it was reorganised as a national institution.該校的直接前身於 1925 年作為熊本縣立大學創辦，並在 1929 年改組為國立機構。
• The Fifth High School served as the hub of the new university at its foundation, having been a leading school of western Japan and producing national figures such as the physicist Terada Torahiko and the future prime minister Satō Eisaku.第五高等學校在新大學創立時充當其樞紐，該校曾是日本西部的名校，培養出物理學家寺田寅彥與後來的首相佐藤榮作等國家級人物。
• The writer Natsume Sōseki and the scholar Lafcadio Hearn, also known as Koizumi Yakumo, both taught at the Fifth High School before it became part of Kumamoto University.作家夏目漱石與學者小泉八雲都曾在第五高等學校執教，該校其後併入熊本大學。
• Kumamoto University was chartered on 31 May 1949, merging Kumamoto Teachers College, Kumamoto Pharmaceutical College, the Fifth High School, Kumamoto Medical College and Kumamoto Technical College.熊本大學於 1949 年 5 月 31 日獲准設立，合併了熊本師範學校、熊本藥學專門學校、第五高等學校、熊本醫學專門學校與熊本高等工業學校。
• When it opened the new university began with six departments and an enrolment of about 1,100 students, with the Fifth High School providing much of the teaching staff and premises.新大學開辦之初設六個學科、在校學生約 1,100 人，第五高等學校提供了大部分師資與校舍。
• The Fifth High School closed in 1950 after some sixty years of operation, its staff and buildings absorbed into the new national university.第五高等學校在運作約六十年後於 1950 年停辦，其師資與校舍併入這所新的國立大學。
• In 1955 the Graduate School of Medicine was established, the university's first graduate school, and other graduate schools were subsequently founded in the following decades.1955 年，該校首個研究科醫學研究科成立，其後數十年間其他研究科也相繼設立。
• Kumamoto University was built on earlier roots in the domain schools of 1756 as well as the Meiji-era colleges, so its history spans the Edo, Meiji, Taishō, Shōwa and Heisei periods.熊本大學承襲 1756 年藩校與明治時期專門學校的淵源，其歷史跨越江戶、明治、大正、昭和與平成各時代。
• In 2004, under the National University Corporation Law, Kumamoto University was reorganised as a National University Corporation with greater operational autonomy.2004 年，根據國立大學法人法，熊本大學改組為國立大學法人，獲得了更大的運作自主權。
• The university was later selected for the Top Global University Project of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, or MEXT, which supports internationalisation.該校其後入選文部科學省的頂尖全球大學計劃，該計劃旨在推動日本高校的國際化。
• Kumamoto University runs a kindergarten, an elementary school, a junior high school and a school for disabled children, extending its educational mission below university level.熊本大學設有幼稚園、小學、中學與一所特殊教育學校，把教育使命延伸至大學以下的階段。
• The Memorial Museum of the Fifth High School preserves the heritage of the pre-war school, and the Eisei-Bunko Research Center cares for a historic collection of Chinese and Japanese books.第五高等學校紀念館保存著這所戰前學校的遺產，而永青文庫研究中心則收藏著一批中日古籍。
• The university maintains a Priority Organization for Innovation and Excellence and the Kumamoto University Innovative Collaboration Organization, known as KICO, to link research with industry.該校設有創新與卓越重點機構以及熊本大學產學合作機構 KICO，以把研究與產業相連結。
• Leadership has passed through fourteen presidents, with Ogawa Hisao taking office on 1 April 2021 for a term running to 31 March 2027, succeeding Harada Shinji.該校校長已歷十四任，小川久雄於 2021 年 4 月 1 日就任第十四任校長，任期至 2027 年 3 月 31 日，接替原田信志。
• As of the 2024 and 2025 editions of its data book, the university reported 11,098 and 11,248 students respectively, counting pupils of its attached schools.據其 2024 與 2025 年數據手冊，該校在校學生分別為 11,098 人與 11,248 人，其中包含附屬學校的學生。

Academics

• Kumamoto University is organised into seven faculties, namely Letters, Education, Law, Science, Medicine, Engineering and Pharmacy, and eight graduate schools covering the humanities, sciences and health sciences.熊本大學設有七個學部，即文學部、教育學部、法學部、理學部、醫學部、工學部與藥學部，以及八個涵蓋人文、自然與健康科學的研究科。
• Its graduate schools include the Graduate School of Education, the Graduate School of Social and Cultural Sciences, the Graduate School of Science and Technology and the School of Law.其研究科包括教育學研究科、社會文化科學研究科、自然科學研究科與法學研究科。
• Health-related graduate provision includes the Graduate School of Medical Sciences, the Faculty of Life Sciences, the Graduate School of Health Sciences and the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences.與健康相關的研究教育包括醫學研究科、生命科學研究部、保健學研究科與藥學研究科。
• The Faculty of Letters covers humanities disciplines, while the Faculty of Education trains teachers and the Faculty of Law offers legal studies, reflecting the university's roots in the teachers college and the Fifth High School.文學部涵蓋人文學科，教育學部培養教師，法學部開設法律研究，體現該校源自師範學校與第五高等學校的傳統。
• The Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Engineering provide the natural and applied sciences, and the Faculty of Medicine and the School of Pharmacy train physicians and pharmacists.理學部與工學部提供自然與應用科學教育，醫學部與藥學部則培養醫師與藥師。
• The university operates a number of research centres, among them the Institute of Pulsed Power Science, the Magnesium Research Center and the Institute of Molecular Embryology and Genetics.該校設有多個研究中心，其中包括脈衝功率科學研究所、鎂研究中心與分子發生遺傳學研究所。
• The Center for AIDS Research is a long-standing unit of the university, and the Institute of Resource Development and Analysis supports materials and environmental research.愛滋病研究中心是該校歷史悠久的單位，資源開發與分析研究所則支持材料與環境研究。
• Further centres include the Center for Multimedia and Information Technologies, the Center for Globalization, the Research Center for Higher Education and the Center for Policy Studies.其他中心包括多媒體與信息技術中心、全球化中心、高等教育研究中心與政策研究中心。
• The Center for Marine Environment Studies and the Research Center for Buried Cultural Properties reflect the university's coastal setting in Kyushu and its role in archaeology.海洋環境研究中心與埋藏文化財研究中心反映了該校在九州的臨海區位及其在考古領域的角色。
• Kumamoto University Hospital is the university's principal teaching hospital, and the university's affiliated schools and the Health Care Center serve students and staff.熊本大學醫院是該校主要的教學醫院，其附屬學校與保健中心則服務學生與教職員工。
• The university maintains the Organization for Globalization and the Organization for General Education to support international exchange and broad undergraduate teaching.該校設有全球化推進機構與通識教育機構，以支持國際交流與本科通識教學。
• The Center for Globalization and the Institute for e-Learning Development provide language and digital learning support across the campus.全球化中心與電子學習發展研究所為全校提供語言與數字化學習支持。
• Academic staff conduct research across medicine, pharmacy, engineering, science and the humanities, and the university's medical and life-science units are among its most research-intensive.該校教師在醫學、藥學、工學、理學與人文領域開展研究，其中醫學與生命科學單位的研究最為密集。
• The university's research output, counted by OpenAlex at more than 64,000 works and about 4.8 million citations, places it among the more productive national universities of Kyushu.據 OpenAlex 統計，該校學術成果逾 64,000 項、被引約 480 萬次，位居九州較高產的國立大學之列。
• Teaching combines undergraduate faculties with graduate programmes, and the University Hospital, attached schools and research centres give students clinical and laboratory experience.教學把本科學部與研究生課程結合起來，附屬醫院、附屬學校與研究中心為學生提供臨床與實驗經歷。
• The university's oldest library tradition is carried by the Eisei-Bunko collection and the Memorial Museum of the Fifth High School, which together document its scholarly heritage.該校最古老的藏書傳統由永青文庫與第五高等學校紀念館承載，兩者共同記錄其學術遺產。

Campus

• Kumamoto University has four campuses, all in the city of Kumamoto, namely the Kurokami North and Kurokami South campuses and the Honjo-kuhonji and Oe campuses.熊本大學有四個校區，均位於熊本市，即黑髮北校區與黑髮南校區，以及本莊九品寺校區與大江校區。
• The two Kurokami campuses form the main campus, situated in the Kurokami district at the foot of Mount Tatsuda, and the university's headquarters building stands on the Kurokami South campus.黑髮南北兩校區構成主校區，位於辰己山山麓的黑髮地區，該校總部大樓坐落於黑髮南校區。
• The Kurokami North Campus, at 2-40-1 Kurokami in Chuo ward, houses the Faculties of Letters, Education and Law along with the Memorial Museum of the Fifth High School.位於中央區黑髮 2-40-1 的黑髮北校區，設有文學部、教育學部與法學部，以及第五高等學校紀念館。
• The Honjo-kuhonji Campus at 1-1-1 Honjo is home to the Faculty of Medicine, the Faculty of Life Sciences and the Institute of Molecular Embryology and Genetics.位於本莊 1-1-1 的本莊九品寺校區是醫學部、生命科學研究部與分子發生遺傳學研究所的所在地。
• The Oe Campus at 5-1 Oehonmachi houses the School of Pharmacy and the Institute of Resource Development and Analysis, serving the health sciences.位於大江本町 5-1 的大江校區設有藥學部與資源開發與分析研究所，服務於健康科學。
• The Kurokami South Campus, at 2-39-1 Kurokami, hosts the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Engineering together with the Institute of Pulsed Power Science and the Magnesium Research Center.位於黑髮 2-39-1 的黑髮南校區設有理學部與工學部，以及脈衝功率科學研究所與鎂研究中心。
• The main campuses lie within walking distance of central Kumamoto, and the city's Kumamoto Castle and its transport links to Fukuoka and Kagoshima are easily reached.各主校區距熊本市中心步行可達，前往熊本城以及通往福岡、鹿兒島的交通幹線也十分便利。
• A signature campus building is the former Fifth High School, now preserved as a memorial museum, which anchors the university's identity in the Meiji-era centre of learning.校園的標誌性建築是原第五高等學校，如今作為紀念館保存，把該校的身分植根於明治時期的高等教育中心。

Reputation

• In the 2027 QS World University Rankings, Kumamoto University is placed in the 1001-1200 band, a shared range rather than a single position.在 2027 年 QS 世界大學排名中，熊本大學位列第 1001-1200 位區間，屬並列區間而非單一席位。
• In the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2027 the university is placed in the 1001-1200 band.在 2027 年泰晤士高等教育世界大學排名中，該校位列第 1001-1200 位區間。
• In the 2026-2027 U.S. News Best Global Universities ranking it stands at number 1,210 in the world.在 2026-2027 年度 US News 全球最佳大學排名中，該校位居全球第 1,210 位。
• The 2026 Academic Ranking of World Universities published by ShanghaiRanking places it in the 901-1000 band, its strongest major-table placement.軟科發布的 2026 年世界大學學術排名把該校列入第 901-1000 位區間，是其在主要榜單中的最佳名次。
• OpenAlex attributes 64,355 scholarly works and 4,793,599 citations to the university, by far the largest research output among the institutions in its rank band in Kyushu.OpenAlex 收錄該校學術成果 64,355 項、被引 4,793,599 次，為九州同檔次院校中科研產出最大者。
• Kumamoto University carries substantial academic reputation in medicine, pharmacy and materials science, fields linked to its University Hospital and its research institutes.熊本大學在醫學、藥學與材料科學領域具有相當的學術聲譽，這些領域與其附屬醫院及各研究所密切相關。
• The university is a member of the Top Global University Project of MEXT, a scheme intended to raise the international profile of selected Japanese universities.該校是文部科學省頂尖全球大學計劃的成員，該計劃旨在提升入選日本高校的國際形象。
• Its history of hosting scholars such as Natsume Sōseki and Lafcadio Hearn at the Fifth High School remains a point of institutional pride.第五高等學校時期曾有夏目漱石與小泉八雲等學者執教，這段歷史至今仍是該校引以為傲之處。
• Among the university's research strengths is pulsed power science, promoted through the Institute of Pulsed Power Science, and magnesium research through its dedicated centre.該校的研究強項包括脈衝功率科學與鎂研究，分別由脈衝功率科學研究所與鎂研究中心推動。
• The university's graduates and former staff include a Nobel laureate associated with its predecessor school and two prime ministers of Japan, giving it a notable political and scientific record.該校校友與舊教職員中包括一位與其前身學校相關的諾貝爾獎得主以及兩位日本首相，使其政治與科學記錄相當突出。

Student life

• The university publishes a communication word and motto in the form of KU Spirit, rendered in English as "Forest of Creative Power, Blaze of Challenging Spirit" and in Japanese as a phrase meaning a forest that creates and a flame that challenges.該校以「KU Spirit」作為其傳播語與校訓，意為「創造的森林、挑戰的火焰」，日文作「創造する森 挑戦する炎」。
• The motto expresses three qualities that the university says it has cultivated in Kumamoto, namely creativity, challenge and cooperation among people.該校訓體現其自述在熊本長期培植的三種特質，即創造、挑戰與人與人之間的合作。
• Students are supported by the Health Care Center, the Organization for General Education and the institute for e-learning, which together provide welfare and academic help.學生由保健中心、通識教育機構與電子學習研究所提供支持，三者共同提供福利與學業協助。
• The university's international students come from Asia, North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Oceania, giving the campus a broadly global student body.該校國際學生來自亞洲、北美、南美、歐洲、非洲與大洋洲，使校園的學生來源十分國際化。
• The Center for Globalization and the Organization for Globalization run language and cultural programmes that bring Japanese and international students together.全球化中心與全球化推進機構開設語言與文化項目，把日本學生與國際學生聯繫起來。
• Campus life is closely tied to the city of Kumamoto, whose castle, museums and tram network lie within reach of the Kurokami and Honjo-kuhonji campuses.校園生活與熊本市緊密相連，該市的城堡、博物館與路面電車網絡距黑髮與本莊九品寺校區均在可達範圍內。
• The Memorial Museum of the Fifth High School hosts exhibitions and events that connect current students with the university's pre-war history.第五高等學校紀念館舉辦展覽與活動，使在校學生與該校戰前的歷史相聯繫。
• A range of student clubs, sports teams and cultural societies operate across the campuses, and the university's attached schools and hospital give students volunteering and outreach opportunities.各校區設有豐富的學生社團、運動隊與文化學會，其附屬學校與醫院也為學生提供志願服務與外展機會。

Notable people

• Terada Torahiko, a physicist and essayist who studied the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, was among the most distinguished graduates of the Fifth High School that became part of Kumamoto University.物理學家兼隨筆家寺田寅彥曾研究 1923 年關東大地震，是併入熊本大學的第五高等學校最傑出的校友之一。
• Satō Eisaku, a graduate of the Fifth High School, served as Prime Minister of Japan and received the 1974 Nobel Peace Prize for Japan's policy of renouncing nuclear weapons.第五高等學校校友佐藤榮作曾任日本首相，並因日本放棄核武的政策而獲得 1974 年諾貝爾和平獎。
• Ikeda Hayato, another of the school's former students, also became Prime Minister of Japan and shaped the country's post-war economic growth.該校另一位舊生池田勇人同樣出任日本首相，並塑造了該國戰後的經濟成長。
• Hiroaki Mitsuya, a virologist and professor at the university, is known for his role in the discovery of the anti-HIV drug zidovudine, also called AZT.該校病毒學家兼教授滿屋裕明以參與發現抗愛滋病藥物齊多夫定（AZT）而著名。
• Kazuma Tateishi, founder of OMRON Corporation, is counted among the university's notable figures, and Yukinori Kuwano became president of Sanyo Electric.歐姆龍公司創辦人立石一真被列為該校的知名人物，桑野幸德則出任了三洋電機社長。
• Kazunobu Abe became chief executive of Sakai Chemical Industry, and Masazumi Harada was a researcher of Minamata disease who studied its effects in Kumamoto.安倍一允出任堺化學工業社長，原田正純則是研究水俁病影響的熊本本地研究者。
• Takehiko Inoue, the manga artist known for Slam Dunk and Vagabond, studied at the university without graduating, and the actress Miyako Miyazaki studied there as well.以《灌籃高手》與《浪客行》聞名的漫畫家井上雄彥曾就讀該校但未畢業，女演員宮崎美子亦曾就讀。
• Keiko Saito and Yoshiko Miyazaki are actresses associated with the university, and Rio Kamikaze and Mr. Gannosuke became professional fighters.齋藤慶子與宮崎美子是與該校相關的女演員，神風里緒與Mr. Gannosuke則成為職業格鬥選手。
• Akira Mitsuoka, an author and winner of the Naoki Prize, is a graduate, and Takeshi Yamakawa became a researcher in fuzzy logic whose work supported Omron's leadership in that field in the 1980s and 1990s.作家兼直木獎得主光岡明是該校校友，山川烈則是模糊邏輯研究者，其研究在 1980 至 1990 年代支持了歐姆龍在該領域的領先地位。
• Meng Yonggang, a tribologist and director of the State Key Laboratory of Tribology at Tsinghua University, is linked to the university as a scholar, and Yasuyuki Eda served as a member of Japan's House of Representatives.清華大學摩擦學國家重點實驗室主任、摩擦學家孟永鋼與該校有學術淵源，江田康幸曾任日本眾議院議員。
• Kenichiro Aoki, an earth scientist, Chuhei Takashima, an archaeologist, and Yasuhiro Muramatsu, a medical scientist known for work on the enhanced permeability and retention effect, are among the university's academic figures.地球科學家青木謙一郎、考古學家高島忠平，以及以研究增強滲透與滯留效應著稱的醫學科學家村松康弘，都是該校的學術人物。
• The university's network of alumni, faculty and former teachers spans politics, science, medicine, business, literature and the arts, reflecting its broad role in Kyushu and in Japan.該校的校友、教師與舊教職員網絡橫跨政治、科學、醫學、商界、文學與藝術，體現其在九州乃至全日本的廣泛影響。