About this site & disclaimer
What this site is
Kininarunote is a notebook of things we got curious about and then looked into. Something read in a book, seen in the news, or heard from someone that made us say "huh." We research it and write it up so that you can follow the path too, and maybe get curious about the sources and about the world around you. It is a doorway, not a replacement for a textbook.
The site has three languages: Japanese, English, and Spanish. Each is written on its own; this is not a translation site. The number of articles and the topics are not the same across languages. The Japanese site is the main one and has articles at three reading levels (early elementary, upper elementary, middle school), with the same facts told with different words and amounts of explanation. Articles in this English section are written at a single level, in plain language. Tag pages and the "popular tags" list exist only on the Japanese site.
This English edition currently has more than 1,330 articles about things that made us ask “why?”.
Who runs it
The site is run by one individual (the writer). We do not publish a name or a biography. The writer is not a researcher or a subject-matter expert, but someone who likes looking things up. What matters to the writer: being accurate, being easy to understand, and not claiming more certainty than the sources give.
How the articles are made
The articles are made together with generative AI (a conversational AI assistant). We do not hide this. Roughly:
- Choosing a topic (the writer). The writer decides what to look into and checks that it does not duplicate an existing article.
- Research (AI and the writer). AI finds and organizes public materials, including primary sources such as papers and public agencies, to confirm numbers and dates.
- Drafting (AI). The story of the article is planned first, then the researched facts are fitted into it.
- Checking by several AI reviewers. Separate AI reviewers check the facts against the sources and check the wording (overstatement, rights, tone). Problems are fixed and the fixes are checked again.
- Automated checks. Programs check things like whether sources are listed, the style rules, and links.
- Publishing (the writer). The writer decides whether an article is published.
No expert has reviewed the articles. Neither the AI checks nor the writer's checks guarantee that every statement is correct. That is why every article lists its sources, so you can check them yourself. If a mismatch with a source is found after publication, we fix the article.
Sources and corrections
- We prefer public agencies, research papers, and reliable publications, and we avoid building an article on a single source such as Wikipedia alone.
- We do not reprint text or images from other books or sites, and we do not simply reword another site's article. What we take from sources is mainly facts, numbers, and research results; the structure, headings, and analogies are our own.
- Where we could only confirm a paper's abstract, or could not confirm something, we say it more weakly or leave it out. Unconfirmed hypotheses are labeled as hypotheses.
- Sources are listed at the end of each article, with links to primary sources wherever possible.
- When an important correction is made, we try to record when, where, and why in the article's "Update history." If you find an error, please tell us through the contact form.
Why the colors change
Each page changes its background and text colors to match its topic, so space looks different from the ocean. If a page opens in a different color than the last one, nothing is wrong. That's on purpose.
Care for children
- This site has no input fields, no accounts, and no comments. It does not ask for personal information.
- Links to outside sites are only for citing sources.
- Children also read this site. We are preparing an experiment with advertising, and we will keep reviewing ad content and settings with child readers in mind (details in the Privacy Policy). Advertising providers may use cookies, and personalized ads may be shown depending on the ad; a consent screen may appear on pages of this site (only in regions where consent is required).
- We aim not to make accidents, crimes, war, or religion the subject of articles.
Disclaimer
- The writer is not a researcher or a subject-matter expert. This site is an individual's study notebook and has not been reviewed by experts.
- Articles are researched, organized, and drafted together with generative AI. The writer checks the content, but this is not a guarantee of complete, rigorous human verification of every statement.
- We take care to be accurate, but the content may contain errors or outdated information.
- For schoolwork, professional use, or any other important decision, please always confirm against the primary sources listed in each article.
- The writer is not liable for any damages arising from using, or being unable to use, the information on this site.
- Links to external sites are provided for reference only; we do not vouch for their content or safety, and we are not responsible for problems that arise on linked sites.
- Content may be changed or removed without notice.
Quoting and reprinting
The text and figures on this site were created by the writer. If you quote them, please make the quoted part clearly identifiable and add the name of this site and the URL of the page. Please do not reprint text in full or publish it as your own.
Conversely, if you feel that this site is mishandling someone's work, please let us know through the contact form below. We will check and promptly correct or remove it. Corrections to factual errors are always welcome too.
Contact
For reports of errors, rights-related notices, or comments, please use the form below. The writer will read it (we cannot always promise a reply; thank you for understanding). Children, please use it together with a parent or guardian.
The form uses a Google service. How the information you enter is handled also follows Google's privacy policy. We do not collect personal information by any other method. For advertising, analytics (this site uses Cloudflare Web Analytics, which according to Cloudflare uses no cookies or localStorage), and what is stored in your browser, see the Privacy Policy.