Ritsumeikan was first founded as a private academy in 1869 by Prince Saionji Kinmochi. In 1900, Kojuro Nakagawa (the former secretary of Prince Saionji) established the Kyoto Hosei School, a
law school that eventually adopted the Ritsumeikan name (with the princes permission) and was awarded full university status in 1922. Historically, the school was seen as a liberal alternative to the state-run Kyoto University.
Today, Ritsumeikan university is known as one of western Japans four leading private universities. KAN-KAN-DO-RITS (Kwansei Gakuin University, Kansai University, Doshisha University, and Ritsumeikan University) is the abbreviation that many people refer to when talking about the four leading private universities in the region (of 20 million people). Ritsumeikan University is considered to be one of Japans top universities, and is especially well known for its International Relations programme which has been ranked as first place in Japan.
Last Updated on: Nov 25, 2024