Sections

Our Emblem and School Color

Emblem

Emblem The emblem of Kyoto University combines the camphor tree that stands in front of the Clock Tower with a logo made from the Chinese characters for "University", the latter having been used to represent the university since its pre-World War II days as Kyoto Imperial University. Mr. Ogawa, a faculty member in the 1950s, suggested the original design. Since that time, it has been used on all manner of printed materials issued by the administrative bureau, as well as on the university's official letterhead. The need for an official emblem increased as the university became involved to an ever-increasing degree in international academic exchanges, leading to design studies that eventually resulted in the present form of the university emblem as shown here, which was officially adopted by the University Council on November 16, 1990.

School Color

nousei In 1920, The University of Tokyo and Kyoto University, which were known at the time as The Imperial University of Tokyo and Kyoto Imperial University, had their first regatta on the Seta River. As with Oxford and Cambridge Universities in England, Kyoto and Tokyo Universities chose a dark blue and a light blue for their team colors, respectively. The color for the Kyoto University team, chosen by lot, was a dark shade of blue called "nousei", which has been both the school color and the color of the sports association at Kyoto University ever since.