18 At the age of eighteen Enryō was deepening his interest in ideas on civil liberties and societal modernization. But, there is something that was not recorded in his study log; that is, that day and night he was “passionately” reading the Bible of the “Yaso” religion (the name people used for Christianity at the time) in English and in Chinese translation. It was forbidden for someone born in a Buddhist temple to read the books of another religion, but the ever-curious Enryō secretly worked to understand Christianity. He was not someone to talk on something without having studied its texts. The Chinese clas-sics, i.e. Confucian works, formed the basic structure of Chinese thought and faith, and so learning about Christianity meant that En-ryō would now be able to compare three religions. It is interesting to consider how Enryō might have been thinking about all of this. He was living in a dormitory but would sometimes submit a notice of absence and go back to Jikōji to attend large memorial services. How would Enryō have been feeling then, having studied Western learning and now soon to become the next abbot? His two years of study at the school for Western studies was coming to an end. On July twelfth 1876 a new prefectural ordinance meant the discon-tinuation of Niigata School and a transition to independence for its former branch schools. After that the school took on the curious name “Temporary School” until sufficient capital could be amassed. On September first, the school reopened after the summer break. From this day, Enryō was employed as a “reading teacher.” Accord-Convening the Harmony and Equality Circle
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