noun
Kankandōritsu (four leading private universities in Kansai)
Abbreviation for Kansai University, Kwansei Gakuin University, Doshisha University, and Ritsumeikan University. Used mainly in educational contexts and university comparisons.
関関同立は関西の難関私立大学グループです。
Kankandōritsu is a group of prestigious private universities in Kansai.
彼は関関同立の一角、同志社大学に合格した。
He was accepted to Doshisha University, one of the Kankandōritsu schools.
A similar grouping of mid-tier private universities in Tokyo (Meiji, Aoyama Gakuin, Rikkyo, Chuo, Hosei), while Kankandōritsu is Kansai-specific.
Formed by taking the first kanji of each university name: 関 (Kansai), 関 (Kwansei Gakuin), 同 (Doshisha), 立 (Ritsumeikan).