Kyoto University

Kyoto University (Japanese: 京都大学, Kyōto daigaku), abbreviated as Kyodai, is a national public research university in Kyoto, Japan, and is the second oldest of the nation's nine former Imperial Universities, founded to decentralise higher education beyond Tokyo.京都大学（日文：京都大学；英文简称 Kyodai）是日本京都的一所国立公立研究型大学；它是日本九所旧帝国大学中历史第二悠久的学府，其创办旨在使高等教育不再局限于东京。

It was established on 18 June 1897 as Kyoto Imperial University under the Imperial University Ordinance of 1886 and was renamed Kyoto University in October 1947 after the word imperial was dropped from the names of the former imperial universities.该校于 1897 年 6 月 18 日依据 1886 年《帝国大学令》创立，初名京都帝国大学；1947 年 10 月，随着旧帝国大学名称中「帝国」二字被废除，学校改名为京都大学。

In the QS World University Rankings 2027 the university is placed 64th in the world and is the highest ranked institution in Japan together with the University of Tokyo, while its enrolled population stands at about 23,000 students as of May 2025.在 2027 年 QS 世界大学排名中，该校位列世界第 64 位，与东京大学并列为日本排名最高的学府；截至 2025 年 5 月，其在校学生约为 2.3 万人。

History

• The plan to build the nation's second university in Kyoto was advanced by the aristocrat and education minister Saionji Kinmochi in the late 1890s, using funds drawn from the First Sino-Japanese War indemnity to support regional development.在日本明治晚期，贵族出身的教育大臣西园寺公望推动了在京都建立日本第二所大学的计划，资金来自甲午战争的赔款，用于促进地方发展。
• Kyoto Imperial University was established on 18 June 1897 under the Imperial University Ordinance of 1886, becoming Japan's second imperial university after Tokyo Imperial University.京都帝国大学于 1897 年 6 月 18 日依据 1886 年《帝国大学令》设立，成为继东京帝国大学之后日本第二所帝国大学。
• The new institution opened in 1897 with a single College of Science and Engineering and it initially made use of the buildings of the Third Higher School located in the Yoshida area of the city.新校于 1897 年开办时仅设理工科大学（学院），最初借用位于吉田地区的第三高等学校的校舍。
• The College of Law was added in 1898 and the College of Medicine followed in 1899, broadening the university beyond its original science and engineering focus.法学院于 1898 年增设，医学院于 1899 年设立，使学校的学科范围突破了最初的理工领域。
• The College of Letters was established in 1906 and in 1914 the College of Science and Engineering was divided into separate Colleges of Science and of Engineering.文学院于 1906 年成立，1914 年理工科大学拆分为理科大学与工科大学。
• In February 1919 the colleges were reorganised into five faculties, namely Law, Medicine, Engineering, Letters and Science, and the Faculty of Economics was created in May 1919.1919 年 2 月，各学院改组为法学、医学、工学、文学与理学五个学部，同年 5 月又设立经济学部。
• The Faculty of Agriculture was founded in 1923, the same year the university's iconic Clock Tower Centennial Hall was completed on the Yoshida Campus as a reinforced concrete landmark.农学部于 1923 年创立，同年校园内的标志性建筑——吉田校区百年纪念馆钟楼以钢筋混凝土建成。
• The Takikawa Incident of 1933, in which a professor was prosecuted over a lecture on the Meiji Constitution, became a celebrated symbol of academic freedom at the university.1933 年的泷川事件因一名教授就明治宪法发表演讲而遭起诉，后来成为该校学术自由的著名象征。
• In 1940 the university selected its official banner and school song, and by 1946 the first female students were admitted to the previously all male institution after the war.1940 年学校选定了校旗与校歌，1946 年首批女生在战后得以进入这所原本只招收男生的学府。
• In October 1947, after Japan's defeat, Kyoto Imperial University dropped the word imperial and was renamed Kyoto University under the educational reforms of the Allied occupation.1947 年 10 月日本战败后，京都帝国大学去掉「帝国」之名，在教育改革的背景下改名为京都大学。
• In May 1949 the university was reorganised under the new education system as a four year institution and merged with the Third Higher School, which became its College of Liberal Arts.1949 年 5 月，学校在新教育体制下改组为四年制大学，并与第三高等学校合并，后者成为其教养部。
• The Kyoto University graduate school system was created in April 1953, providing structured postgraduate education across the arts, education, law, economics, science, pharmacy, engineering and agriculture.1953 年 4 月京都大学研究生院制度创立，在文学、教育、法学、经济、理学、药学、工学与农学等领域提供系统化的研究生教育。
• The Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences was established in 1960, raising the number of undergraduate faculties and reinforcing the university's strength in the life and chemical sciences.药学部于 1960 年设立，提升了本科学部数量，也强化了学校在生命科学与化学科学领域的实力。
• In October 1992 the College of Liberal Arts was reorganised into the Faculty of Integrated Human Studies, the university's tenth faculty, emphasising broad interdisciplinary education.1992 年 10 月教养部改组为综合人类学部，成为该校第十个学部，强调宽广的跨学科教育。
• In 2003 the university opened its Katsura Campus as a techno science hill dedicated to engineering and informatics research and education on the western edge of the city.2003 年学校开设了桂校区，作为以工程学与信息学的研究和教育为核心的「科技之丘」，位于京都西部。
• Under the National University Corporation Law, Kyoto University was incorporated as a national university corporation in April 2004, gaining greater management autonomy from the Ministry of Education.依据《国立大学法人法》，京都大学于 2004 年 4 月改组为国立大学法人，从文部科学省获得了更大的管理自主权。
• In 2017 the Japanese government designated Kyoto University as a Designated National University, recognising its research excellence and its public mission among the country's top institutions.2017 年日本政府将京都大学认定为「指定国立大学」，肯定其作为日本顶尖学府的研究实力与公共使命。
• The university has long cultivated a tradition of academic autonomy known as the freedom of academic culture, a spirit traceable to the teaching style of early professors such as Yoshihito Takane.该校长期奉行被称为「自由的学风」的学术自主传统，这一精神可追溯到泷根义人等早期教授的教学风格。
• By May 2025 Kyoto University comprised 10 faculties, 18 graduate schools, 12 research institutes and 26 educational and research centres, reflecting more than a century of steady growth.截至 2025 年 5 月，京都大学由 10 个学部、18 个研究生院、12 个研究所与 26 个教育研究中心组成，体现了一个多世纪的稳步发展。

Academics

• Kyoto University is organised into 10 undergraduate faculties covering the humanities, social sciences, and natural, medical and engineering sciences, from Letters to Agriculture.京都大学下设 10 个本科学部，涵盖从文学到农学的人文学、社会科学以及自然、医学与工程科学。
• It operates 18 graduate schools spanning disciplines from the classics and philosophy to advanced engineering, informatics, biostudies and global environmental studies.该校设有 18 个研究生院，学科从古典学、哲学延伸至前沿的工程学、信息学、生命科学以及全球环境学。
• The university maintains 12 research institutes, including the Institute for Chemical Research, the Primate Research Institute and the Institute for Integrated Cell Material Sciences known as iCeMS.学校拥有 12 个研究所，包括化学研究所、灵长类研究所以及名为 iCeMS 的统合细胞材料科学研究所。
• As of May 2025 the university enrolled about 23,000 students, of whom roughly 13,000 were undergraduates and about 10,000 were postgraduate students.截至 2025 年 5 月，该校在校学生约 2.3 万人，其中本科生约 1.3 万人、研究生约 1 万人。
• Approximately 3,000 of its students come from overseas, representing around 120 countries and territories and contributing to a culturally diverse campus environment.其中约 3000 名学生来自海外，代表约 120 个国家和地区，为校园带来多元的文化氛围。
• The total academic and administrative staff numbers about 7,650, including roughly 3,500 faculty members and around 960 professors engaged in teaching and research.全校教研与行政人员约 7650 人，其中包括约 3500 名教员以及约 960 名教授。
• Kyoto's historic strengths lie in fundamental physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics, fields in which it has produced multiple Nobel laureates across the past seven decades.京都大学的传统强项在于基础物理学、化学、生物学与数学，过去七十年间这些领域诞生了多位诺贝尔奖得主。
• In the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024, Kyoto ranked 20th in the world in Classics and Ancient History and 24th in both History and Modern Languages.在 2024 年 QS 世界大学学科排名中，京都大学在古典与古代史位列世界第 20 位，在历史与现代语言均排名第 24 位。
• The same subject rankings placed Kyoto 26th in Engineering, Petroleum and Physics and Astronomy, and 27th in Chemistry, underlining its breadth in the sciences.同一学科排名将京都大学在工程、石油、物理与天文学列为第 26 位，在化学列为第 27 位，彰显其科学领域的广度。
• The Graduate School of Medicine and its affiliated hospitals form a major centre for clinical education and biomedical research in the Kansai region of Japan.医学研究科及其附属医院是日本关西地区临床医学教育与生物医学研究的重要中心。
• The Uji Campus houses research institutes for the natural sciences and energy related fields, including the Institute of Advanced Energy and large experimental laboratories.宇治校区设有自然科学与能源相关领域的研究所，包括先进能源研究所与大型实验研究室。
• Kyoto University Press publishes scholarly monographs and journals, while the university library system holds extensive collections including rare Chinese and Japanese texts.京都大学学术出版会出版学术专著与期刊，而该校图书馆系统收藏丰厚，包括珍稀的中日文文献。
• The university belongs to international networks such as the Association of East Asian Research Universities, the Association of Pacific Rim Universities and the International Association of Universities.该校加入了东亚研究型大学协会、环太平洋大学协会以及国际大学协会等国际学术网络。
• It operates overseas offices including a European office in London and a Kyoto University office at Vietnam National University in Hanoi to coordinate global partnerships.学校在海外设有办事处，包括位于伦敦的欧洲办事处以及设在河内越南国家大学的京都大学联合办公室。
• Through the Kyoto iUP programme the university offers a 4.5 year international undergraduate path combining a preparatory course with English and Japanese taught degree study.通过 Kyoto iUP 项目，学校提供为期 4.5 年的国际本科路径，将准备课程与英日双语授课的学位学习相结合。
• As of 2017 the university had signed academic exchange agreements with about 200 institutions worldwide and strategic partnerships with several leading universities abroad.截至 2017 年，该校已与全球约 200 所院校签署学术交流协议，并与数所海外顶尖大学建立了战略伙伴关系。

Campus

• Kyoto University is organised around three main campus clusters in and around the Kyoto Basin, named Yoshida, Uji and Katsura, each serving a distinct academic role.京都大学以京都盆地内及周边的三个主要校区群为核心，分别是吉田、宇治与桂校区，各自承担不同的学术职能。
• The Yoshida Campus in Sakyo ward has been the historic core of the university since its 1897 founding and mixes red brick buildings from the early era with modern research facilities.位于左京区的吉田校区自 1897 年建校起便是学校的历史核心，既有早期红砖建筑，也有现代化的研究设施。
• The Uji Campus, acquired after 1949, hosts research institutes for the natural sciences and energy and is known for its greenery and quiet environment south of the city.宇治校区于 1949 年后获得，设有自然科学与能源领域的研究所，以绿树成荫、环境幽静而闻名。
• The Katsura Campus opened in October 2003 and is devoted to engineering and informatics, organised into four research and education sections on a western hillside.桂校区于 2003 年 10 月启用，专注工程学与信息学，在西部山麓划分为四个研究与教学区块。
• The Clock Tower Centennial Hall on the Yoshida Campus, designed by the first Professor of Architecture Goichi Takeda and completed in 1925, is a protected historic landmark and a symbol of the university.吉田校区的百年纪念馆钟楼由首任建筑学教授武田五一设计、1925 年竣工，是受保护的历史地标与学校象征。
• The Kyoto University Museum on the Yoshida Campus holds collections that support research in the humanities, archaeology and the natural sciences across the disciplines.吉田校区的京都大学综合博物馆收藏丰富，为人文、考古与自然科学等学科的研究提供支持。
• The university library system serves all three campuses and the main library on Yoshida holds the bulk of the collection, including valuable Chinese and Japanese documents.该校图书馆系统服务三个校区，吉田校区的主馆收藏了大部分馆藏，包括珍贵的中日文文献。
• Most students live off campus in the surrounding city, while a number of university and private dormitories provide on campus and nearby accommodation for domestic and international students.多数学生住在校外周边城区，同时学校与民间运营的多处宿舍为本地及国际学生提供校内与邻近住宿。

Reputation

• In the QS World University Rankings 2027 Kyoto University is ranked 64th in the world, placing it among the very top universities in Japan and across Asia.在 2027 年 QS 世界大学排名中，京都大学位列世界第 64 位，位居日本乃至亚洲最顶尖的大学之列。
• The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2027 places it in the 62nd position, tied with peer institutions, reflecting its sustained global standing.2027 年泰晤士高等教育世界大学排名将其列在第 62 位（并列），体现其稳定的全球地位。
• The Academic Ranking of World Universities 2026 ranks Kyoto 43rd in the world, confirming its strength among the leading research universities globally.2026 年世界大学学术排名将京都大学列为世界第 43 位，印证其作为全球领先研究型大学的实力。
• The U.S. News Best Global Universities 2026 to 2027 edition places it 162nd in the world, with particularly strong showings in the sciences and engineering.2026 至 2027 年版美国新闻与世界报道最佳全球大学排名将其列为世界第 162 位，在科学与工程领域表现尤为突出。
• Kyoto University has produced a remarkable string of Nobel laureates, with eleven laureates affiliated as alumni or faculty, beginning with Hideki Yukawa who won the 1949 Nobel Prize in Physics.京都大学培养了一大批诺贝尔奖得主，共有 11 位校友或教职员获奖，始于获得 1949 年诺贝尔物理学奖的汤川秀树。
• Kenichi Fukui received the 1981 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his theory of frontier orbitals, and Shinya Yamanaka was awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for induced pluripotent stem cells.福井谦一因前线轨道理论获得 1981 年诺贝尔化学奖，山中伸弥因诱导多能干细胞研究获得 2012 年诺贝尔生理学或医学奖。
• Tasuku Honjo won the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of cancer immunotherapy, and Makoto Kobayashi with Toshihide Maskawa shared the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics.本庶佑因发现癌症免疫疗法获得 2018 年诺贝尔生理学或医学奖，小林诚与益川敏英共同获得 2008 年诺贝尔物理学奖。
• The OpenAlex database attributes 402,209 works to Kyoto University with 31,159,201 citations, reflecting its very large and heavily cited research output.OpenAlex 数据库为京都大学收录 402,209 篇成果，被引用 31,159,201 次，反映其庞大且高引用的科研产出。
• In subject rankings Kyoto performs strongly in the sciences, with Chemistry ranked 27th and Natural Sciences 31st in the QS World University Rankings by Subject of 2024.在学科排名方面，京都大学在科学领域表现强劲，化学在 2024 年 QS 学科排名中位列第 27 位、自然科学第 31 位。
• The university is a member of the RU11 consortium of leading Japanese research universities and is consistently ranked first or second domestically alongside the University of Tokyo.该校是日本顶尖研究型大学联盟 RU11 的成员，在国内长期与东京大学并列位居第一或第二。

Student life

• Kyoto University's informal motto is Jiyū no Gakufū, meaning the freedom of academic culture, reflecting a long standing tradition of intellectual independence among students and faculty.京都大学的非正式校训是「自由の学風」，意为「自由的学风」，体现了师生之间源远流长的思想独立传统。
• The university's official school song was selected in 1940 and continues to be performed at entrance, graduation and athletic ceremonies across the campuses.学校的官方校歌于 1940 年选定，至今仍在各校区的入学、毕业与体育典礼上演唱。
• The Clock Tower Centennial Hall and the surrounding Yoshida grounds are focal points for student gatherings and the university's seasonal festivals held each spring and autumn.百年纪念馆钟楼及周边的吉田校园是学生聚会的中心，也是学校每年春秋两季举办校园祭的场所。
• Students organise a large number of circles and clubs spanning sports, music, theatre, volunteering and academic societies, enriching campus life beyond the classroom.学生组织了众多的社团与俱乐部，涵盖体育、音乐、戏剧、志愿服务与学术团体，丰富了课堂之外的校园生活。
• The spring and autumn festivals held by the faculties and student groups draw visitors from across Kyoto to the Yoshida Campus for performances, stalls and exhibitions.由各学部与学生团体举办的春季与秋季校园祭吸引京都各地的访客来到吉田校区，参与演出、摊位与展览。
• Student housing includes university dormitories such as the Yoshida International Lodge as well as private apartments in the city, supporting a lively international student community.学生住宿包括吉田国际交流会馆等大学宿舍以及市内的民间公寓，支撑起活跃的国际学生社群。
• The university's sporting tradition includes inter faculty competitions and participation in the Kansai and national university athletic leagues across many disciplines.该校的体育传统包括学部之间的竞赛，以及参加关西乃至全国大学体育联盟的多种项目。

Notable people

• Saionji Kinmochi, the aristocratic statesman and education minister who advanced the plan to found Japan's second imperial university in Kyoto in the 1890s, linked the institution to national modernisation.西园寺公望是贵族出身的政治家兼文部大臣，在 1890 年代推动了在日本设立第二所帝国大学的计划，将学校与国家现代化相连。
• Kinoshita Koji served as the inaugural president of Kyoto Imperial University from 1897 and presided over the opening of the new institution under the imperial ordinance.木下广次自 1897 年起担任京都帝国大学的首任校长，主持了依据帝国法令创办的新校开办事宜。
• Hideki Yukawa, a Kyoto professor of physics, became the first Japanese Nobel laureate when he won the 1949 Nobel Prize in Physics for his prediction of the meson.汤川秀树是京都大学的物理学教授，因预言介子而获得 1949 年诺贝尔物理学奖，成为首位获诺贝尔奖的日本人。
• Kenichi Fukui, a professor at Kyoto, won the 1981 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his frontier orbital theory explaining the course of chemical reactions.福井谦一是京都大学教授，因解释化学反应进程的前线轨道理论获得 1981 年诺贝尔化学奖。
• Shinya Yamanaka, a Kyoto professor, was awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed into induced pluripotent stem cells.山中伸弥是京都大学教授，因发现成熟细胞可被重编程为诱导多能干细胞而获得 2012 年诺贝尔生理学或医学奖。
• Tasuku Honjo, a Kyoto professor, received the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of cancer immunotherapy based on the CTLA 4 protein.本庶佑是京都大学教授，因基于 CTLA-4 蛋白发现癌症免疫疗法而获得 2018 年诺贝尔生理学或医学奖。
• Makoto Kobayashi and Toshihide Maskawa, Kyoto physicists, shared the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics for explaining the origin of the mass of elementary particles.京都大学的物理学家小林诚与益川敏英因阐明基本粒子质量的起源而共同获得 2008 年诺贝尔物理学奖。
• Susumu Tonegawa, a Kyoto alumnus who earned his bachelor's degree there, won the 1987 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the genetic principle of antibody diversity.利根川进是京都大学校友，在校取得学士学位，因抗体多样性的遗传学原理获得 1987 年诺贝尔生理学或医学奖。
• Ryoji Noyori, a Kyoto alumnus, was awarded the 2001 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on asymmetric hydrogenation, a cornerstone of modern catalytic chemistry.野依良治是京都大学校友，因在不对称氢化方面的贡献获得 2001 年诺贝尔化学奖，这是现代催化化学的基石。
• Hayato Ikeda, a Kyoto alumnus who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1960 to 1964, engineered the Income Doubling Plan that drove rapid postwar economic growth.池田勇人是京都大学校友，1960 至 1964 年担任日本首相，推行「国民收入倍增计划」推动了战后经济高速增长。
• Fumimaro Konoe, a Kyoto alumnus, served three times as Prime Minister of Japan in the late 1930s and early 1940s and was a central political figure of the wartime period.近卫文麿是京都大学校友，在 1930 年代末至 1940 年代初三度出任日本首相，是战时时期的核心政治人物。
• Zhang Hongzhao, a Chinese geologist who studied at Kyoto University in the early twentieth century, later became one of the founders of modern geology in China.章鸿钊是早年留学京都大学的中国地质学家，后来成为近代中国地质学的奠基人之一。
• Zheng Boqi, who graduated from Kyoto University in 1926, was a member of the Creation Society and a notable writer in the movement of modern Chinese literature.郑伯奇于 1926 年从京都大学毕业，是创造社成员，也是中国现代文学运动中的著名作家。