The Kyoto University Archives was established in 2000 to acquire, select, preserve and provide access to archival materials relating to the University, such as non-current records of the university offices and departments, and documents donated by former presidents, faculty members and alumni. In 2011, the new law on public records management and archives was enacted. While the regulations of this law are principally applied to government agencies of Japan, universities which have been nationally-founded are also subject to them. So now, Kyoto University Archives is governed under the regulations of that law.

Clock Tower Centennial Hall

We have approximately 300,000 items of archival materials in total. Our holdings are divided into three categories. The first is administrative records of Kyoto University. Each office of departments, institutes and centers in the University must transfer their records to the archives when certain years have passed after they were created. The second is personal papers. From its inception, many individuals and organizations have donated their documents to the archives. But we do not collect materials which are not related to the University’s history. The third is publications which have been issued by Kyoto University and its departments. Some of them are available in the reading room of the archives.

Administrative records of the early period of Kyoto University

Acquisition and Preservation

While University Archives is an independent institution of Kyoto University, it is essential to collaborate with the General Affairs Department of the University’s Administration Bureau. They control the management of records among the university, so we work together to ensure that non-current records of each department are properly identified and transferred. After these records are transferred to the archives, we appraise them in order to identify records to be preserved as archival materials. We also arrange and describe these materials and put the data into online database. They are securely preserved in our storage building.

Providing Access

Researchers may search the materials of our holdings via Information Retreival System on the Internet. It provides multiple means of searching, such as keyword search and hierarchical search. Anyone can access this database via the Internet prior to the visit. When researchers visit us and request for access to the materials, we check the requested materials whether sensitive or privacy information are included, and if necessary, cover the pages or sentences in order to prevent users to look at such parts. Most of the records, however, are freely available to users. Also, researchers may take photographs of those materials for free.

Exhibition

University Archives has designed and developed a permanent exhibition on the history of Kyoto University at Historical Exhibition Room in the Clock Tower Centennial Hall. The centerpiece of the exhibition is a model of Yoshida Campus as it stood in 1939. The model is surrounded by a thematically arranged exhibition of documents and photographs, which form a portrait of the university spanning from its foundation to modern times. The exhibition also features a full-scale model of pre-war student dormitory room and booths for viewing video materials. The exhibition aims to inspire visitors to not only think about Kyoto University’s past, but also its present and future. For more information on the university’s history, see “A Short History of Kyoto University“.

Based on its holdings, University Archives conducts research on archival science, and history of Kyoto University and higher education in Japan. Research findings are published annually in the Research Bulletin of Kyoto University Archives. For back issues of the Bulletin, see Kyoto University Research Information Repository.

   

University Archives Reading RoomPermanent Exhibition

The reading room of the Archives is located near the Yoshida Main Campus. See also the campus map of the University. http://www.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en/access