Hongwanji Mission School (HMS) is a private co-educational preparatory school (grades pre-school through eighth) located in Nuuanu Valley and adjacent to Downtown Honolulu. Accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and the , HMS first opened its doors in 1949 and was the first Buddhist school established outside Japan. In 2003, HMS announced the opening of a Buddhist high school, Pacific Buddhist Academy, which shares a campus with HMS.