Kotobank (コトバンク) is a Japanese-language online encyclopedia which allows users to search across dictionaries, encyclopedias, and databases provided by publishers and others. It is operated by Voyage Marketing Co. When the service was first launched in 2009, it was stylized "kotobank" in rōmaji, but has since been stylized in katakana. In June 2008, The Asahi Shimbun and EC Navi Inc. launched the "Minna no Chiezo" service, an online version of "Chiezo," a dictionary of modern terms that was once published. The service was rebuilt as a dictionary platform in which various companies could participate. The "kotobank" service was launched on April 23, 2009, under the management of The Asahi Shimbun and EC Navi Inc. At the time of its launch, it claimed to cover a total of 430,000 entries in 44 dictionaries and encyclopedias, the core of which were provided by Kodansha, Shogakukan, and Asahi Shimbun Publishing. In its early days, the site had strong ties with The Asahi Shimbun, with related news from The Asahi Shimbun's website, asahi.com, appearing on its pages. More information...
According to PR-model, kotobank.jp is ranked 178th in multilingual Wikipedia, in particular this website is ranked 12th in Japanese Wikipedia.
The website is placed before stanford.edu and after comicbook.com in the BestRef global ranking of the most important sources of Wikipedia.
