Hanazono University

The university and the neighborhood are named for Emperor Hanazono, whose donated his palace to make Myōshin-ji.

It is a major competitor of the Sōtō college in Tokyo known as Komazawa University.

Despite the university's sectarian affiliation, the school accepts Soto students.

[2] Founded in 1872 as a seminary for those interested in the priesthood, the university carries on that tradition while offering an education to those uninterested in becoming a priest.

Since 1979, the Institute for Zen Studies has organised together with the Monastic Interreligious Dialogue (DIMMID) the so-called East-West Spiritual Exchanges in which Buddhist and Christian monks or nuns take turns residing for one month in each other’s monasteries.