Learn More about KURENAI
KURENAI Provides Open Access
Open access is a growing international trend that makes academic research freely available. Kyoto University Research Information Repository (KURENAI), is a platform that provides open access to research and educational outputs of Kyoto University, making contribution to broader communities.
- Repository contents will also be included in databases such as Google Scholar and CiNii.
- Permalinks are provided to ensure permanent access.
What is KURENAI?
KURENAI is an acronym for Kyoto University Repository for Navigating Academic Information. The name KURENAI recalls the opening lines of the anthem of Japan's Third High School, an antecedent of Kyoto University.
Japan's largest repository
Since the launch in 2006, KURENAI has been increasing the numbers of both outputs and the access to them. KURENAI became the largest institutional repository in Japan and ranked 6th in the Rankings of World Web Repositories hosted by the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC; Spain: May 2025).
[Reference]
Aguillo, Isidro F. (2025). Transparent Ranking of Repositories 2025. figshare. Preprint. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.29099234.v2
Copyright of the Contents in KURENAI
Copyright of the contents in KURENAI belongs to the authors or the publishers of the contents, not to the Kyoto University Library Network. The Contents in KURENAI, unless explicitly stated, are only for personal use or citations as defined in the Copyright Law. For any other purposes beyond that, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder(s).
Operating Structure
KURENAI is operated by the Kyoto University Library Network.
Benefits of Publishing Articles and Journals on KURENAI
We asked the faculty members at Kyoto University about the benefits of making articles and journals open access on KURENAI.
- Voice of Researchers: Benefit of Publishing Articles on KURENAI
- Special Event: Interview to Prof. Hajime Kita
- Voice of Publishers: Benefit of Publishing Journals on KURENAI
The Kyoto University Open Access Promotion Project (2016–2021)
In order to realize the "WINDOW: A Vision for the Future," Kyoto University has launched the "Kyoto University Priority Strategic Action Plan (2016–2021)" focusing on the third mid-term objectives. As part of the plan, the Kyoto University Library Network has been carrying out the "Open Access Promotion Project" to implement the "Kyoto University Open Access Policy."
The "Open Access Promotion Project" aims to promote open access to research results of our faculty members and rare materials we hold and to enhance our research support capabilities.
Archive on the "Kyoto University Open Access Promotion Project (2016–2021)"