The Kokoro Research Center was established in April 2007 to bring together researchers from an array of disciplines including psychology, neurophysiology, philosophy, religious studies, and folklore studies and serve as an organization for inquiries into the nature of the human mind or consciousness suited to the coming global age. As a unique research organization unlike any other, the Center aims to unravel the workings of the mind and to that end, pursues diverse interdisciplinary projects in three research domains or fields: mind and body, mind and human bonds, and mind and ways of life.

　To better comprehend the workings of this mind that we cannot directly see with our own eyes, it is essential that we strive to empirically shed light on each and every one of its varied manifestations, including intelligence, emotion, awareness, values, empathy, and communication. However, the current funding frameworks for newly incorporated national universities are limited and cannot adequately support the steady, painstaking efforts in research that these inquiries entail. The Kokoro Fund was accordingly created to help the Center live up to its mission and ideals.

　The Center strives to serve as a creative interdisciplinary space backed by the promotion of mutual interchange between researchers in Japan and abroad. It also sponsors a variety of events aimed at sharing the latest research findings with the general public. These range from the Kyoto Kokoro Conference and Kokoro Research Center colloquia to Kokoro seminars (for educators and members of the medical profession), intensive neuroscience lectures, and lectures on Bhutanese culture.