First period: The age of the senses (lower intellectual level) Second period: The age of imagination Third period: The age of reasoning (higher intellectual level) By adding elements centered on philosophy, but also including psychology, science, and even medicine, Enryō built up his explana-tions based on the theories and applications of those scholarly fields (i.e. through comprehensive science). The aim of these mystery stud-ies was to support Enryō’s principle of “protecting nation and loving truth.” Based on the spirit of love for the truth, he argued that the principles of yōkai should be fully understood and applied in practice to heal the “delusions and sufferings” of the people of the world. Working to improve the doctrines of society should be seen as syn-onymous with protecting and further developing the nation state. A portion of the scholars and intellectuals at the time dismissed yōkai as a problem of the lowly and poor, saying that it was only the ignorant who feared them. Enryō, however, felt that “despite the progress of modernization the influence of yōkai is actually growing, and this is a major problem that will affect many aspects of society.” He tried to solve this problem by helping to illuminate people on the truth. In his mystery studies Enryō placed particular emphasis on education and religion. In order to eliminate the “weeds of the mind” of the people he positioned “mystery studies as a gateway to religion and a precursor to the advancement of education.” In his Lectures on Mystery Studies Enryō takes a historical view of the relationship between humans and yōkai. His view is divided into the following categories. 104
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