Asanobu KITMOTO earned his Ph.D. in electronic engineering from the University of Tokyo in 1997. He is now Director of Center for Open Data in the Humanities (CODH), Joint Support-Center for Data Science Research (DS), Research Organization of Information and Systems (ROIS), Associate Professor of National Institute of Informatics, and SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies). His main technical interest is in image processing and pattern recognition, but he also works on developing data-driven science in a wide range of disciplines such as humanities, earth science and environment, and disaster reduction. He received Japan Media Arts Festival Jury Recommended Works, IPSJ Yamashita Award, and others. He is also interested in trans-disciplinary collaboration for the promotion of open science.
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I am interested in developing "data-driven science," or an approach to create value from analysis of large scale data, in various academic disciplines. My goal is to discover new knowledge or create new communities through the construction of relevant research infrastructure including large-scale databases by developing data analysis, search, and visualization algorithms based on visual and spatial information processing technology adapted to the characteristics of target data. For example, in the field of meteorology, I built one of the largest databases about data related to typhoon and meteorological disasters from the past to the current with seamless search and access to heterogeneous and massive data, which is now considered as real-time disaster information service based on big data technology, attracting a large number of people. In addition, I have been extending the data-driven science approach to a wide range of disciplines such as global environment and humanities domains, and from now on, I am planning to apply it to research infrastructure for humanities as a part of the activity in Center for Open Data in the Humanities (CODH) at Joint Support-Center for Data Science Research, Research Organization of Information and Systems (ROIS). This kind of research is related to “open science” movement, which promotes openness and sharing of scholarly information across disciplines as leverage to transform the style of academic research, so I am also involved in research projects based on trans-disciplinary collaboration.
End-to-End Pre-Modern Japanese Character (Kuzushiji) Spotting with Deep Learning, Best Paper Award, Organizing Committee of Jinmoncom Sympojium 2018
Winner: Tarin Clanuwat, Alex Lamb, Asanobu Kitamoto
Mar 2017
Opening Digital Data on Pre-Modern Japanese Books, 'Katte' Award, General Incorporated Association "Vitalizing Local Economy Organization by Open Data & Big Data"
Winner: National Institute of Japanese Literature; Center for Open Data in the Humanities, Joint Support-Center for Data Science Research, Research Organization of Information and Systems
Digital Criticism Platform for Supporting Evidence-based Interpretation of Sources, Best Paper Award, Organizing Committee of Jinmoncom Sympojium 2015
Winner: Asanobu KITAMOTO, Yoko NISHIMURA
Jul 2015
Media and Intelligent Information, IPSJ Yamashita SIG Research Award, Information Processing Society of Japan
Winner: Asanobu KITAMOTO
Mar 2014
GeoNLP, Best Award, Infrastructure Division, Committee of LOD Challenge
Winner: GeoNLP Development Team (Leader: Asanobu KITAMOTO)
Nov 2013
GeoNLP - Toponym Information System for the Automatic Mapping of Text, Geo Activity Fiesta / Prize for Encouragement, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism / Geospatial Information Authority of Japan
Winner: GeoNLP Development Team (Leader: Asanobu KITAMOTO)
Jun 2013
Contribution as a member of review committee, ISS Review Contribution Award, The Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers
Mar 2013
Electrical Japan, Excellence Award, Visualization Division, Committee of LOD Challenge
Mar 2013
Electrical Japan, Softbank Telecom Award, Open Data Promotion Consortium
Dec 2012
311 Memories, 16th Japan Media Arts Festival, Jury Recommended Works, Agency for Cultural Affairs
Winner: KITAMOTO Asanobu, OGATA Hisato
Nov 2011
GeoNLP: Toward Intelligent Geo-Tagging for Natural Language Text, CSIS Days 2011 Best Presentation Award, Center for Spatial Information Science, The University of Tokyo
Architectural Heritage Online: Ontology-Driven Website Generation for World Heritage Sites in Danger, Best Paper Award, Euromed 2010
Winner: Elham Andaroodi and KITAMOTO Asanobu
Dec 2008
Information Infrastructure of Beijing Historical Space Using Google Earth and Complete Map of Peking, Qianlong Period, IPSJ SIG Computers and the Humanities Symposium 2008 Best Paper Award, Information Processing Society of Japan
Winner: Yoko Nishimura, Asanobu KITAMOTO
Apr 2008
Typhoon Front, AC+C'04 Award 2007 Silver Prize in Academic Education Division + Prize of Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Web Development and Web Marketing Consortium
Winner: Asanobu KITAMOTO
Dec 2007
Typhoon Front, 11th Japan Media Arts Festival, Art Division Jury Recommended Works, Agency for Cultural Affairs
Image-Based Content Indexing for Books with Iconographic Elements – the Case of Bukan Complete Collection
Hakim Invernizzi, Asanobu KITAMOTO, Frédéric Kaplan
Ninth Conference of Japanese Association for Digital Humanities (JADH2019) 59-63 Aug 2019 [Refereed]
Pre-modern Japanese Books as Data of Humanities: Finding Image of Edo Famous Place from Meisho-Ki 名所記 and Meisho-Zue 名所図会 using IIIF
Chikahiko SUZUKI, Asanobu KITAMOTO
Ninth Conference of Japanese Association for Digital Humanities (JADH2019) 42-45 Aug 2019 [Refereed]
North China Railway Archive: the construction of research database of photographs for publicity activities during the Second Sino-Japanese War and its societal impacts
Asanobu KITAMOTO, Yoko NISHIMURA, Toshihiko KISHI, Yoshihiro ISHIKAWA
Technical Report of IPSJ (Information Processing Society of Japan) 2019-CH-121(12) 1-8 Aug 2019
Open Science and Digital Humanities Pushing the Revival of Japanese Classical Books[Invited]
Asanobu KITAMOTO
Network Renrakukai 2019 Summer 23 Aug 2019
Historical Big Data Research for Studying Relationship Between Nature and Society
Asanobu KITAMOTO
Earthquake Research Institute "Dialogue between Disciplines Studying Historical Natural Phenomena" 19 Aug 2019
Open Science and AI - Data-Driven Science and the Value of "Openness"[Invited]
Asanobu KITAMOTO
National Institute for Environmental Science, Planning Division and Library Joint Organizing Seminar 31 Jul 2019
Learning Method that Facilitates User Understanding of Changes in the Kyoto Townscape: Utilizing a Smartphone Application with the Kyoto City Tram and Bus Photograph Database
Digital Humanities Summer Institute 2019 3 Jun 2019
Introduction of Japan Data Repository Network (JDARN)
Asanobu KITAMOTO
Japan Open Science Summit 2019 28 May 2019
Yes we can? Open science can change humanities and social sciences?
Asanobu KITAMOTO
Japan Open Science Summit 2019 28 May 2019
Rekisuke: a system for sharing bibliographic information of historical documents through Interdisciplinary collaboration[Invited]
Mika ICHINO, Yukie HASHIMOTO, Kooiti MASUDA, Asanobu KITAMOTO, Junpei HIRANO
Abstracts of Japan Geoscience Union (JpGU) Meeting 2019 27 May 2019
Historical big data: integrated analysis of the past world by the workflow that bridges data structuring gaps
Asanobu KITAMOTO, Mika ICHINO
Abstracts of Japan Geoscience Union (JpGU) Meeting 2019 27 May 2019
Japan Data Repository Network (JDARN): Community-based activities for improving the trustworthiness of data repositories
Asanobu KITAMOTO, Hiroko KINUTANI
Abstracts of Japan Geoscience Union (JpGU) Meeting 2019 26 May 2019
Digital Archive of East Asia, by East Asia, for East Asia - The Impact of "Digital Silk Road," "Pre-Modern Japanese Text," and "North China Railway Archive"[Invited]
Asanobu KITAMOTO
Third Convention of Japan Society for Digital Archive 15 Mar 2019
Kuzushiji Challenge: Public Datasets and Machine Learning for Old Japanese Characters
Asanobu KITAMOTO
10th CODH Seminar: Document Analysis and Character Recognition 11 Mar 2019
Historical Big Data Platform: Cross-Disciplinary Historical Data Sharing by Overcoming the Gap in Data Structuring[Invited]
Asanobu KITAMOTO, Mika ICHINO
3rd Workshop of Kotenseki Bunri Yugo 22 Feb 2019
Open science trend - changing style of research and increasing relevance of platform for research resources[Invited]
Asanobu KITAMOTO
RIIS Seminar "Toward the construction of academic resource databases at Research Institute for Islands and Sustainability, University of the Ryukyus 1 Feb 2019
esire and Open Science - Virtuous Cycle of Open Data and the Clash of Values[Invited]
Asanobu KITAMOTO
I-URIC Frontier Colloquium 2018 13 Dec 2018
Construction of North China Railway Archive: organization and full release of photographs taken during Japan-China War and archived at Institute for Research in Humanities, Kyoto University"
Yoko NISHIMURA, Asanobu KITAMOTO
2018 Chuo University Hakuto Shigakukai Meeting 1 Dec 2018
Digitally-Enabled Criticism: “Reading” Visual and Spatial Data Using IIIF & Machine Learning[Invited]
Asanobu KITAMOTO
Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences 23 Nov 2018
The Goal of Historical Big Data
Asanobu KITAMOTO
2nd Historical Big Data Workshop - Historical Disaster Research Meets Paleoclimate Research 20 Nov 2018
Asanobu KITAMOTO (Part:Contributor, Studying History from the Analysis of Image Data - The Potential of "Differential Reading" in "Bukan Complete Collection")
Bungaku Report Mar 2019 ISBN:978-4-909658-12-8
The Ruins of Kocho: Traces of Wooden Architecture on the Ancient Silk Road
Yoko NISHIMURA, Erika Forte, Asanobu KITAMOTO (Part:Contributor, A new method for re-identifying ancient excavated structures on the Silk Road: the case of Kocho)
Yoko NISHIMURA, Erika Forte, Asanobu KITAMOTO, ZHANG Yong (Part:Contributor, Identification of ancient remains at Karakhoja site: integration and criticism of maps, photographs, and satellite images)
Cultural Relics Press Dec 2015
What is Digital Archive? - Theory and Practice
KITAMOTO Asanobu (Part:Contributor, Strengthening Digital Archives - Methodology for Driving Continuous Improvement Starting from the Release)
Bensei Shuppan Jun 2015
Kadokawa Course-Internet 8, New Horizon of Search
KITAMOTO Asanobu (Part:Contributor, Search Linked to the Real World - Searching Time and Space)
Kadokawa Gakugei Shuppan Apr 2015
Historical GIS Perspective in Japan - Landscape Reconstruction, Environment and Regional Structure
Data-Driven Reconstruction and Integrated Analysis of the Past World Using the Infrastructure for Historical Big Data
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A)
Project Year: Apr 2019 - Mar 2022 Investigator(s): KITAMOTO Asanobu
Organization for the Development of Earth Environmental Information Platform
, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT): Program for the Develoment of Earth Environmental Information Platform
Project Year: Apr 2016 - Mar 2021 Investigator(s): Junji Inoue
Bridging the Structuring Gap in Humanities Big Data and Its Effectiveness in Cross Disciplinary Use Cases
Research Organization of Information and Systems: Inter-organization and Inter-disciplinary Project
Project Year: Sep 2018 - Mar 2021 Investigator(s): Asanobu KITAMOTO
Digital Criticism: Link-Oriented Research Infrastructure for Evidence-Based Digital Humanities
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
Project Year: Apr 2016 - Mar 2019 Investigator(s): KITAMOTO Asanobu
General Research on the Advancement of Search Functionality
National Institute of Japanese Literature: Collaborative research for research and development, "Project to Build an International Collaborative Research Network for Pre-modern Japanese Texts"
Project Year: Apr 2015 - Mar 2019 Investigator(s): Asanobu KITAMOTO
Big Data Analysis by Deep Representation Learning for Severe Weather Events such as Typhoons
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
Project Year: Apr 2016 - Mar 2018 Investigator(s): KITAMOTO Asanobu
Human-Centered Situation Awareness Platform for Disaster Response and Recovery
Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST): Big Data and Disaster Research (BDD), Japan-U.S. research projects, Strategic International Collaborative Research Program (SICORP)
Project Year: Apr 2015 - Mar 2018 Investigator(s): Asanobu KITAMOTO
National Institute of Informatics Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science: Grant-in-Aid for Publication of Scientific Research Results (Database)
Project Year: Apr 2015 - Mar 2016 Investigator(s): KITAMOTO Asanobu
Development of the "Memory Hunting" app to support the reorganization of local collective memories and application of the app for disaster reduction and tourism
Center for Integrated Area Studies (CIAS), Kyoto University: Collaborative Research Projects
Project Year: Apr 2015 - Mar 2016 Investigator(s): KITAMOTO Asanobu
Data Criticism: Reconstructiong the Concept of Silk Road Based on Informatics-based Approaches to Non-textual Sources
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT): Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
Project Year: Apr 2014 - Mar 2016 Investigator(s): KITAMOTO Asanobu
Earth Environmental Information Integration Program
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT): Initiatives on Adaptation Strategies for Climate Change
Project Year: Apr 2011 - Mar 2016 Investigator(s): KITAMOTO Asanobu
Construction of 'North China and Beijing Historical Database' using 'Complete Map of Peking, Qianlong Period' and spatial visual sources
Center for Integrated Area Studies (CIAS), Kyoto University: ollaborative Research, Individual Research Unit
Project Year: Apr 2013 - Mar 2015 Investigator(s): KITAMOTO Asanobu
Digital Typhoon: Typhoon Images and Information
MEXT: Grant-in-Aid for Publication of Scientific Research Results (Database)
Project Year: Apr 2013 - Mar 2014 Investigator(s): KITAMOTO Asanobu
National Institute of Informatics Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books
MEXT: Grant-in-Aid for Publication of Scientific Research Results (Database)
Project Year: Apr 2012 - Mar 2013 Investigator(s): KITAMOTO Asanobu
Coastal ocean prediction for Thailand by integrating database technology into simulation
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT): Grant-in-Aid for Publication of Scientific Research Results (JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship for Foreign Researchers)
Project Year: Nov 2010 - Oct 2012 Investigator(s): KITAMOTO Asanobu
National Institute of Informatics Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT): Grant-in-Aid for Publication of Scientific Research Results (Database)
Project Year: Apr 2011 - Mar 2012 Investigator(s): KITAMOTO Asanobu
Typhoon Imagination : Development of Online Game for Disaster Reduction with Multiple Evaluation Cycles Synchronizing with the Real World
Hayao Nakayama Foundation for Science & Technology and Culture: Research Grants
Project Year: Apr 2011 - Mar 2012 Investigator(s): KITAMOTO Asanobu
[Demonstrator] National Institute of Informatics 50th Anniversary of Isewan Typhoon - See, Listen and Learn about Typhoon Disasters 12 Sep 2009 - 12 Sep 2009
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