aid: rakuten
name: Rakuten
description: |
  Rakuten Group is a Japan-headquartered internet conglomerate
  spanning e-commerce (Rakuten Ichiba), fintech (Rakuten Bank,
  Rakuten Card, Rakuten Securities), digital content (Rakuten
  Books, Kobo, Viki), travel (Rakuten Travel), telecom (Rakuten
  Mobile, Rakuten Symphony), and advertising (Rakuten Advertising).
  Rakuten exposes a long-standing public developer platform —
  Rakuten Web Services (webservice.rakuten.co.jp) — that offers
  REST/JSON APIs for searching Ichiba items and genres, books,
  CDs, DVDs, games, software, magazines, Kobo eBooks, Rakuten
  Travel hotels (simple, detail, vacant, keyword), Rakuten Recipe,
  and Rakuten GORA golf courses. All RWS APIs use a Rakuten
  application ID for authentication and are read-only. Rakuten
  separately operates merchant-facing RMS (Rakuten Merchant Server)
  APIs and Rakuten Pay merchant APIs, which are partner-gated.
type: Index
position: Provider
access: Public
image: https://kinlane-productions.s3.amazonaws.com/apis-json/apis-json-logo.jpg
tags:
  - E-commerce
  - Travel
  - Books
  - Recipes
  - Golf
  - Japan
  - Fintech
  - Telecom
  - Rakuten Web Services
url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/rakuten/refs/heads/main/apis.yml
created: '2026-05-23'
modified: '2026-05-23'
specificationVersion: '0.20'
apis:
  - aid: rakuten:ichiba-item-search
    name: Rakuten Ichiba Item Search API
    description: |
      Keyword and parameter search across all Rakuten Ichiba
      marketplace items, returning item titles, prices, images,
      shop information, and ranking signals.
    humanURL: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/ichiba-item-search
    baseURL: https://app.rakuten.co.jp
    tags:
      - E-commerce
      - Items
      - Search
      - Ichiba
    properties:
      - type: Documentation
        url: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/ichiba-item-search
  - aid: rakuten:ichiba-genre-search
    name: Rakuten Ichiba Genre Search API
    description: |
      Returns the hierarchical genre tree used to categorize items
      across Rakuten Ichiba, enabling category navigation and
      browse-based product discovery.
    humanURL: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/ichiba-genre-search
    baseURL: https://app.rakuten.co.jp
    tags:
      - Genres
      - Categories
      - Ichiba
    properties:
      - type: Documentation
        url: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/ichiba-genre-search
  - aid: rakuten:ichiba-tag-search
    name: Rakuten Ichiba Tag Search API
    description: |
      Returns tags associated with a genre, supporting faceted
      navigation and refinement of Ichiba item browse.
    humanURL: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/ichiba-tag-search
    baseURL: https://app.rakuten.co.jp
    tags:
      - Tags
      - Facets
      - Ichiba
    properties:
      - type: Documentation
        url: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/ichiba-tag-search
  - aid: rakuten:ichiba-item-ranking
    name: Rakuten Ichiba Ranking API
    description: |
      Returns top-ranked items across Rakuten Ichiba by genre, age,
      and gender, used for trend and bestseller displays.
    humanURL: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/ichiba-item-ranking
    baseURL: https://app.rakuten.co.jp
    tags:
      - Ranking
      - Bestsellers
      - Ichiba
    properties:
      - type: Documentation
        url: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/ichiba-item-ranking
  - aid: rakuten:ichiba-product-search
    name: Rakuten Item Price Navi API
    description: |
      Price Navi (Product Search) returns aggregated product
      records with multi-shop price comparisons, ratings, and
      review metadata for Ichiba.
    humanURL: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/ichiba-product-search
    baseURL: https://app.rakuten.co.jp
    tags:
      - Products
      - Price Comparison
      - Reviews
    properties:
      - type: Documentation
        url: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/ichiba-product-search
  - aid: rakuten:books-total-search
    name: Rakuten Books Total Search API
    description: |
      Unified search across all Rakuten Books catalogs (books, CDs,
      DVDs, games, software, magazines), returning normalized
      product records and Rakuten Books shop information.
    humanURL: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/books-total-search
    baseURL: https://app.rakuten.co.jp
    tags:
      - Books
      - Media
      - Search
    properties:
      - type: Documentation
        url: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/books-total-search
  - aid: rakuten:books-book-search
    name: Rakuten Books Book Search API
    description: |
      Search Rakuten Books for Japanese-language and translated
      books by title, author, ISBN, publisher, and other metadata.
    humanURL: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/books-book-search
    baseURL: https://app.rakuten.co.jp
    tags:
      - Books
      - Search
      - ISBN
    properties:
      - type: Documentation
        url: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/books-book-search
  - aid: rakuten:books-cd-search
    name: Rakuten Books CD Search API
    description: |
      Search Rakuten Books CD catalog by title, artist, label, and
      release date.
    humanURL: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/books-cd-search
    baseURL: https://app.rakuten.co.jp
    tags:
      - Music
      - CDs
      - Search
    properties:
      - type: Documentation
        url: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/books-cd-search
  - aid: rakuten:books-dvd-search
    name: Rakuten Books DVD / Blu-ray Search API
    description: |
      Search Rakuten Books DVD and Blu-ray catalog including
      movies, TV, anime, and live performances.
    humanURL: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/books-dvd-search
    baseURL: https://app.rakuten.co.jp
    tags:
      - Video
      - DVD
      - Blu-ray
    properties:
      - type: Documentation
        url: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/books-dvd-search
  - aid: rakuten:books-foreign-search
    name: Rakuten Books Foreign Book Search API
    description: |
      Search Rakuten Books foreign-language books catalog (mostly
      English-language).
    humanURL: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/books-foreign-search
    baseURL: https://app.rakuten.co.jp
    tags:
      - Books
      - Foreign
      - Search
    properties:
      - type: Documentation
        url: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/books-foreign-search
  - aid: rakuten:books-magazine-search
    name: Rakuten Books Magazine Search API
    description: |
      Search Rakuten Books magazine catalog by title, publisher,
      and issue date.
    humanURL: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/books-magazine-search
    baseURL: https://app.rakuten.co.jp
    tags:
      - Magazines
      - Search
    properties:
      - type: Documentation
        url: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/books-magazine-search
  - aid: rakuten:books-game-search
    name: Rakuten Books Game Search API
    description: |
      Search Rakuten Books video game catalog across major consoles
      and platforms.
    humanURL: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/books-game-search
    baseURL: https://app.rakuten.co.jp
    tags:
      - Games
      - Consoles
      - Search
    properties:
      - type: Documentation
        url: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/books-game-search
  - aid: rakuten:books-software-search
    name: Rakuten Books Software Search API
    description: |
      Search Rakuten Books PC software catalog.
    humanURL: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/books-software-search
    baseURL: https://app.rakuten.co.jp
    tags:
      - Software
      - PC
      - Search
    properties:
      - type: Documentation
        url: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/books-software-search
  - aid: rakuten:books-genre-search
    name: Rakuten Books Genre Search API
    description: |
      Returns the genre tree for Rakuten Books, used for browse and
      navigation across the unified Books catalog.
    humanURL: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/books-genre-search
    baseURL: https://app.rakuten.co.jp
    tags:
      - Genres
      - Categories
      - Books
    properties:
      - type: Documentation
        url: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/books-genre-search
  - aid: rakuten:kobo-ebook-search
    name: Rakuten Kobo eBook Search API
    description: |
      Search Rakuten Kobo's eBook catalog for digital reading
      content across Japanese and international titles.
    humanURL: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/kobo-ebook-search
    baseURL: https://app.rakuten.co.jp
    tags:
      - eBooks
      - Kobo
      - Search
    properties:
      - type: Documentation
        url: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/kobo-ebook-search
  - aid: rakuten:kobo-genre-search
    name: Rakuten Kobo Genre Search API
    description: |
      Returns the Kobo eBook genre hierarchy for browse and filter.
    humanURL: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/kobo-genre-search
    baseURL: https://app.rakuten.co.jp
    tags:
      - Genres
      - eBooks
      - Kobo
    properties:
      - type: Documentation
        url: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/kobo-genre-search
  - aid: rakuten:travel-simple-hotel-search
    name: Rakuten Travel Simple Hotel Search API
    description: |
      Lightweight keyword and area search over Rakuten Travel's
      Japanese hotel inventory, returning hotel name, location,
      and basic descriptors.
    humanURL: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/simple-hotel-search
    baseURL: https://app.rakuten.co.jp
    tags:
      - Travel
      - Hotels
      - Search
      - Japan
    properties:
      - type: Documentation
        url: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/simple-hotel-search
  - aid: rakuten:travel-hotel-detail-search
    name: Rakuten Travel Hotel Detail Search API
    description: |
      Returns full hotel detail records including amenities,
      addresses, images, and access information for one or more
      Rakuten Travel hotels by hotel number.
    humanURL: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/hotel-detail-search
    baseURL: https://app.rakuten.co.jp
    tags:
      - Travel
      - Hotels
      - Details
    properties:
      - type: Documentation
        url: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/hotel-detail-search
  - aid: rakuten:travel-vacant-hotel-search
    name: Rakuten Travel Vacant Hotel Search API
    description: |
      Searches for hotels with vacancy for given check-in and
      check-out dates, party composition, and budget filters.
    humanURL: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/vacant-hotel-search
    baseURL: https://app.rakuten.co.jp
    tags:
      - Travel
      - Hotels
      - Availability
      - Booking
    properties:
      - type: Documentation
        url: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/vacant-hotel-search
  - aid: rakuten:travel-get-area-class
    name: Rakuten Travel Area Class API
    description: |
      Returns Rakuten Travel's hierarchical Japanese area
      classification (prefecture / region / detail), used to scope
      hotel searches and build location filters.
    humanURL: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/get-area-class
    baseURL: https://app.rakuten.co.jp
    tags:
      - Travel
      - Areas
      - Japan
    properties:
      - type: Documentation
        url: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/get-area-class
  - aid: rakuten:travel-keyword-hotel-search
    name: Rakuten Travel Keyword Hotel Search API
    description: |
      Full-text keyword search across Rakuten Travel hotel
      inventory, with filters for area, price, and rating.
    humanURL: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/keyword-hotel-search
    baseURL: https://app.rakuten.co.jp
    tags:
      - Travel
      - Hotels
      - Keyword
    properties:
      - type: Documentation
        url: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/keyword-hotel-search
  - aid: rakuten:travel-hotel-chain-list
    name: Rakuten Travel Hotel Chain List API
    description: |
      Returns the list of hotel chains available on Rakuten Travel,
      used to scope searches to a specific brand.
    humanURL: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/get-hotel-chain-list
    baseURL: https://app.rakuten.co.jp
    tags:
      - Travel
      - Chains
      - Brands
    properties:
      - type: Documentation
        url: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/get-hotel-chain-list
  - aid: rakuten:travel-hotel-ranking
    name: Rakuten Travel Hotel Ranking API
    description: |
      Returns top-ranked Rakuten Travel hotels by area and category
      for trend, bestseller, and recommendation displays.
    humanURL: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/hotel-ranking
    baseURL: https://app.rakuten.co.jp
    tags:
      - Travel
      - Hotels
      - Ranking
    properties:
      - type: Documentation
        url: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/hotel-ranking
  - aid: rakuten:recipe-category-list
    name: Rakuten Recipe Category List API
    description: |
      Returns the Rakuten Recipe category hierarchy (large, medium,
      small) used for browse navigation of user-submitted Japanese
      recipes.
    humanURL: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/recipe-category-list
    baseURL: https://app.rakuten.co.jp
    tags:
      - Recipes
      - Categories
      - Food
    properties:
      - type: Documentation
        url: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/recipe-category-list
  - aid: rakuten:recipe-category-ranking
    name: Rakuten Recipe Category Ranking API
    description: |
      Returns top-ranked recipes within a Rakuten Recipe category,
      with images, ingredients, and recipe URLs.
    humanURL: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/recipe-category-ranking
    baseURL: https://app.rakuten.co.jp
    tags:
      - Recipes
      - Ranking
      - Food
    properties:
      - type: Documentation
        url: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/recipe-category-ranking
  - aid: rakuten:gora-golf-course-search
    name: Rakuten GORA Golf Course Search API
    description: |
      Search Rakuten GORA Japanese golf courses by name, area, and
      facility attributes.
    humanURL: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/gora-golf-course-search
    baseURL: https://app.rakuten.co.jp
    tags:
      - Golf
      - GORA
      - Japan
    properties:
      - type: Documentation
        url: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/gora-golf-course-search
  - aid: rakuten:gora-golf-course-detail
    name: Rakuten GORA Golf Course Detail API
    description: |
      Returns full golf course detail records on Rakuten GORA
      including holes, yardage, fees, access, and amenities.
    humanURL: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/gora-golf-course-detail
    baseURL: https://app.rakuten.co.jp
    tags:
      - Golf
      - GORA
      - Course Details
    properties:
      - type: Documentation
        url: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/gora-golf-course-detail
  - aid: rakuten:gora-plan-search
    name: Rakuten GORA Golf Plan Search API
    description: |
      Search Rakuten GORA tee-time plans by course, date, party
      size, and budget — used to surface bookable golf rounds.
    humanURL: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/gora-plan-search
    baseURL: https://app.rakuten.co.jp
    tags:
      - Golf
      - GORA
      - Tee Times
    properties:
      - type: Documentation
        url: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation/gora-plan-search
  - aid: rakuten:rakuten-pay
    name: Rakuten Pay Merchant API
    description: |
      Rakuten Pay is Rakuten's e-money / QR payment service for
      Japan, integrated by merchants directly or via PSPs. The
      merchant API handles order creation, payment authorization,
      capture, refunds, and reconciliation for in-store QR and
      online checkout flows.
    humanURL: https://pay.rakuten.co.jp/business/
    baseURL: https://api.rakuten.co.jp
    tags:
      - Payments
      - QR
      - Japan
      - Merchant
    properties:
      - type: ProductPage
        url: https://pay.rakuten.co.jp/business/
  - aid: rakuten:rms
    name: Rakuten RMS (Merchant Server) API
    description: |
      RMS (Rakuten Merchant Server) is the operational API for
      Rakuten Ichiba sellers, covering item management, order
      management, shipping, inventory, and customer messaging.
      Access is restricted to approved Ichiba shop owners and
      partner ERP / OMS vendors.
    humanURL: https://webservice.rms.rakuten.co.jp/
    baseURL: https://api.rms.rakuten.co.jp
    tags:
      - Merchant
      - Ichiba
      - Orders
      - Inventory
      - ERP
    properties:
      - type: ProductPage
        url: https://webservice.rms.rakuten.co.jp/
features:
  - name: Rakuten Web Services
    description: Public RWS APIs cover Ichiba, Books, Travel, Recipe, Kobo, and GORA — all under a single Rakuten application ID.
  - name: Long-Lived Public API Platform
    description: RWS has been one of Japan's longest-running public commerce APIs and remains widely used by Japanese developers and academic projects.
  - name: Japan-Specific Datasets
    description: Hotel area classifications, Japanese recipe taxonomies, and Japanese golf course databases are unique to Rakuten's ecosystem.
  - name: Merchant Operations via RMS
    description: Ichiba sellers and partner OMS / ERP vendors integrate operations through the restricted-access RMS API surface.
  - name: Rakuten Pay
    description: QR and online payment acceptance for Japanese merchants through the Rakuten Pay merchant program.
useCases:
  - name: Price Comparison
    description: Build Japanese price-comparison and product-discovery apps on top of Ichiba and Books search APIs.
  - name: Travel Booking
    description: Display Rakuten Travel hotel inventory in third-party travel apps and meta-search engines.
  - name: Recipe Discovery
    description: Power recipe and cooking apps with Japanese user-submitted Rakuten Recipe data.
  - name: Golf Reservations
    description: Surface Rakuten GORA tee-time inventory in sports and lifestyle apps.
  - name: Marketplace Operations
    description: Ichiba sellers manage products, orders, and fulfillment via RMS through ERP and OMS partners.
integrations:
  - name: Rakuten Ichiba
  - name: Rakuten Books
  - name: Rakuten Kobo
  - name: Rakuten Travel
  - name: Rakuten Recipe
  - name: Rakuten GORA
  - name: Rakuten Pay
  - name: Rakuten Card
  - name: Rakuten Mobile
  - name: Rakuten Advertising
authentication:
  - type: APIKey
    description: Rakuten Web Services authenticate with a free application ID issued from the RWS developer console.
  - type: OAuth2
    description: Rakuten Pay and RMS partner integrations use OAuth 2.0 with merchant-issued credentials.
  - type: AccessToken
    description: RMS endpoints require a per-shop service-secret access token issued through the Ichiba RMS portal.
common:
  - type: CorporateWebsite
    url: https://global.rakuten.com/corp/
  - type: ConsumerWebsite
    url: https://www.rakuten.co.jp/
  - type: DeveloperPortal
    url: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation
  - type: APIList
    url: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/documentation
  - type: SignUp
    url: https://webservice.rakuten.co.jp/app/create
  - type: RMS
    url: https://webservice.rms.rakuten.co.jp/
  - type: RakutenPay
    url: https://pay.rakuten.co.jp/business/
  - type: InvestorRelations
    url: https://global.rakuten.com/corp/investors/
  - type: News
    url: https://global.rakuten.com/corp/news/
  - type: Sustainability
    url: https://global.rakuten.com/corp/sustainability/
  - type: Careers
    url: https://global.rakuten.com/corp/careers/
  - type: GitHub
    url: https://github.com/rakutentech
  - type: TechBlog
    url: https://engineering.rakuten.today/
  - type: LinkedIn
    url: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rakuten/
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com