Kimura began his academic career as an associate professor at Kumamoto Joshi Daigaku in 1979. In 1984, he served as a visiting professor in the Faculty of Letters at the University of Indonesia. He joined
Ritsumeikan University in 1991 as a professor in the Faculty of Letters. In 2000, Kimura became a professor at
Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Beppu, where he served as Vice Rector of Student Affairs. He received a Doctor of Literature from
Ritsumeikan University in 2000. He later returned to Ritsumeikan University, serving as Dean of the Faculty of Letters in 2005. In 2006, he became director of the Kyoto Prefectural Domoto Insho Art Museum (Kyotofuritsu Domotoinsho Bijutsukan). Kimura was named Professor Emeritus of Ritsumeikan University in 2010. That year he became president of
Poole Gakuin University in Osaka, and was later named Professor Emeritus of Poole Gakuin University in 2014. In 2015, he became president of the College of Osaka Seikei. == Selected works ==