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 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA HORARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAI 
 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAL 
 
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A SKETCH OF THE LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 REV, JOSEPH HARDY NEESIMA, l,LD 
 
 PRESIDENT OF DOSHISHA, KYOTO, 
 
 PREPARED BY 
 
 REV, J, D, DAVIS, D, D 
 
 PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY IN DOSHISHA. 
 
 " FOR ME TO LIVE IS CHRIST, TO DIE IS QAIX," PHIL. I. 2L. 
 
 " FOR NONE OF US LIVETH TO HIMSELF, AND NONE 
 
 DIETH TO HIMSELF." ROM. XIV. 7. 
 
 j<^aw>! 
 
 TOKYO : 
 FOR SALE BY 
 
 Z. P. jMARUYA & Co., LIMITED; 
 
 .YOKOHAMA, SHANGHAI, & SINGAPORE, 
 
 KELLY & WALSH, LIMITED. 
 
 Printed at the " Seishi-Bunsha." 
 1800. 
 
CTI83S 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 The life, character and work of our brother who 
 was so recently " called up higher," were remark- 
 able and unique ; much of his life was spent in our 
 midst here in Kyoto. For over fourteen years, it 
 was my privilege to be very intimately associated 
 with him, and I have been asked to prepare a 
 brief sketch of his life which may perhaps serve 
 as an introduction to larger works which will 
 doubtless be published later both in Japan and in 
 the United States. 
 
 In preparing this sketch, I have consulted Dr. 
 Neesima's diary, written before he left his home 
 for Hakodate, while on the voyage thither, and in 
 Hakodate, up to the day he sailed from that place 
 on his great quest for truth, and also a copy of 
 the brief sketch of his life, written by the late 
 Miss Phebe Fuller McKeen, one of his sabbath 
 school teachers ; this sketch was written after 
 Dr. Neesima had been in Phillips Academy, 
 Andover, Mass., about a year. I have quoted 
 
 iTS^^noOQ 
 
1 1 Preface. 
 
 freely from the latter in the first chapter and the 
 beginning of the second, using Dr. Neesima's own 
 words in broken English which he wrote out, or 
 which his teacher above referred to, copied from 
 his lips before he had had an opportunity to 
 master the English language. I have also quoted 
 from his journal written on his trip around the 
 world in 1884, 5 ; I also quote freely from letters 
 received from our brother during the last fifteen 
 years, and I give in some detail the history of the 
 founding of the Doshisha Schools, the great work 
 of Dr. Neesima's life. 
 
 His presence with us has been a blessing, and 
 his memory is a benediction to us all. My hope 
 and prayer is that God may use this sketch for his 
 own glory in the advancement of his Kingdom in 
 Japan. 
 
 Doshisha, Kyoto, February, 1890. 
 
 J. D. Davis. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Chapter First; Birth, Early Surroundings and Start 
 
 from Japan 
 
 Chapter Second ; Trials and Preparation 
 
 Chapter Third; Laying Foundations 
 
 Chapter Fourth; Marriage, Trials, Work ... 
 
 Chapter Fifth ; Broadening Plans ; Tour Abroad ... 
 Chapter Sixth ; Last Days of Work ; Sickness, Death and 
 
 Burial 129 
 
 Chapter Seventh ; Meditations, Character, Lessons 143 
 
I. 
 
 BIRTH, EARLY SURROUNDINGS AND 
 START FROM JAPAN. 
 
*' Noiv the Lord said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and 
 from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto the land that I 
 ivill shoio thee." Genesis, XII. 1. 
 
 " God moves in a mysterious way. 
 
 " His wonders to perform" Couper. 
 
 u Faith is nothing else but the soul* 8 venture." W. Bridge. 
 
 Rashly, 
 " And pi-aised be rashness, for it, let us fawic, 
 " Our indiscretion sometimes serves us well, 
 " When our deep plots do pall ; and that should teach us, 
 " There's a divinity that shapes our ends, 
 u Hough hew them how we will." 
 
 Shahespeare. 
 
CO l 
 
 03 
 
CHAPTER FIRST 
 
 The ancestors of Mr. Neesima" were of the 
 samurai class, the retainers of a Daimio of Joshu, 
 an interior province, with the Daimiate at Annaka 
 about seventy five miles from Tokyo. His father, 
 however, lived with his lord in Tokyo at the time 
 of Mr. Neesima's birth and until after he went 
 away to America,. His father taught a school for 
 the boys amongthe families of the retainers, and 
 also assisted in keeping the accounts and in other 
 writing in the office of the Daimio. 
 
 Mr. Neesima was born in Tokyo, January 
 1 4th, 1 843. He was ten years old when Com. Perry 
 first entered the bay of Yedo. He was early 
 taught to read and write Chinese, and later, the 
 sword exercise. He was also taught to worship 
 the family gods which stood upon the shelf of a 
 room in the house. From the time he was about 
 fifteen years old, however, he refused to worship 
 these idols. He could see for himself that they 
 were only " whittled ones" and that they never 
 
 
4 Birth, Early Surroundings 
 
 touched the food and drink which he offered them. 
 The family consisted, besides himself, of a younger 
 brother who died while he was in America, and 
 four sisters, only one of whom survives. Mr. 
 Neesima's father died three years ago, and his 
 mother still lives at the age of eighty-four. 
 
 The quotations below are from Mr. Neesima's 
 imperfect English, as copied by Miss Mc Keen 
 before he had been in America a year. 
 
 About the time he was sixteen years old, he 
 was going into his study of the Chinese language 
 with great enthusiasm when his prince, " picked 
 up me to write his daily book, although it would 
 not had been my desire, I was obliged to go up his 
 office." A new light dawned upon him about this 
 time. " A day my comrade sent me a Atlas of 
 United States, which was written in Chinese letter 
 by some American minister. I read it many times, 
 and I was wondered so much as my brain would 
 melted out of my head, because I liked it very 
 much ; picking one president, building free schools, 
 poor-houses, house of correction and machine 
 working, and so forth, and I thought that a govern- 
 ment of every country must be as President of 
 United States, and mourned myself that a gover- 
 nor of Japan, why you keep down us, as a dog, or 
 
2 
 
 th 
 
 
 #//</ Start from Japan. 5 
 
 a pig? We are people of Japan ; if you govern us, 
 you must love us as your children. From that 
 time I wished to learn American knowledge, but, 
 alas ! I could not got any teacher to learn it. 
 Although I would not like to learn Holland, I was 
 obliged to learn it, because so many of my coun- 
 trymen understood to read it." 
 
 But it was difficult for him to find time for the 
 tudy of Dutch. " Once when his prince had, for 
 e second time, caught him running away from 
 e office, to go to his Dutch teacher, and had 
 given him a flogging for it, he asked, ' Why you 
 run out from here again '? When I answered' him 
 that ' I wish to learn foreign knowledge, because 
 foreigners have got best knowledge, and I hope 
 to understand very quickly ; therefore, tho I know 
 I must stay here and reverence your law, my soul 
 went to my master's house to learn it, and mjr 
 body was obliged to go thither too.' Then he 
 said to me very kindly, i You can write Japan very 
 well, and you can learn yourself enough with it ; if 
 you don't run away from here any more, I will 
 ive you more wages. With what reason will you 
 kc foreign knowledge? Perhaps it will mistake 
 yourself.' * I said to him sooner, why will it mis- 
 take myself ? I guess every one must take some 
 
6 Birth, Early Surroundings 
 
 knowledge. If a man has not any knowledge, I 
 will worth him as a dog or a . pig.' Then he 
 laughed and said me ' You are a stable boy.' " 
 
 " This was not the only time that thirst for 
 knowledge brought him both ridicule and blows. 
 His family and acquaintances thought him very 
 foolish to be craving needless knowledge, still he 
 , never took care to them,' and, ' held his stableness 
 very fast.' His work increased, however, so that 
 he had no time for study and this cost him ' many 
 musings in my head '; and at last he became fairly 
 sick with thwarted purposes and unsatisfied long- 
 ings. After various efforts to cure him, his phy- 
 sician told him, ' Your sickness comes from your 
 mind ; you must try to destroy your warm mind, 
 and must take walk for the healthfulness of your 
 body, and it would be more better than many medi- 
 cine.' ' My prince gave me plenty times tofeed my 
 weakness, and my father gave me some money to 
 play myself ' ; all of which he devoted to'the study 
 of Dutch, and ' a small Book of Nature' which fell 
 into his hands, delighted him so much that it 
 proved, ' more better to my sickness than doctor's 
 medicines.' " 
 
 So health came back, and with it came the busy 
 days and studious nights. In his Book of Nature 
 
and Start from Japan. 7 
 
 he met with some things he was unable to under- 
 stand, because he had never studied Arithmetic, so 
 he went to an Arithmetic school until he had 
 mastered enough to go through his Book of Nature 
 intelligently. " Here are some reflections of this 
 young seeker after knowledge in his own words. 
 1 Some day I went to the seaside of Yedo, hoping 
 to see the view of the sea. I saw largest man of 
 war of Dutch lying there, and she seemed to me 
 as a castle, or as a battery, and I thought, too, that 
 she would be strong enough to fight with enemy. 
 While I look upon her, one reflection came upon 
 my head, that we must open navy, because my 
 country is surrounded by water, and if foreigners 
 fight to my country, we must fight with them at 
 sea, but I made other reflection, too ; that, since 
 foreigners trade, price of everything get high, the 
 country get poor ; therefore, because the coun- 
 trymen don't understand to do trade with foreign- 
 ers, therefore we must know to do trade, and we 
 must learn foreign knowledge. But the govern* 
 ment's law neglected all my thoughts and I cried 
 out myself, ' Why government? why not let us be 
 
 Iree? why let us be as a bird in a cage, or as a rat 
 nabag?'" 
 
8 Birth, Early Surroundings 
 
 school, whenever he could get away from his 
 work, seeking information which he miglit turn to 
 account for his country in the future. He had 
 just made a good beginning in navigation when 
 night study injured his eyes so that he was o- 
 bliged to leave books entirely for a year and a half, 
 1 Which would not come again in my life.' He 
 had hardly recovered from this trouble so as to 
 resume his place in his prince's office, when he 
 was beset with measles, and his eyes, in consequ- 
 ence, i began to spoil again,' so that he was obliged 
 to spend many times very vainly." " When he did 
 begin to use his eyes again, however, it was to 
 some purpose. ' A day I visited my friend, and 
 I found out small Holy Bible in his library, that 
 was written by some American minister in China 
 language and had shown only the most remarkable 
 events of it. I lend it from him and read it at 
 night. I was afraid the savage country's law, 
 which if I read the Bible, will cross ' i. e. crucify, 
 * my whole family.' " 
 
 " This abridgement of the Bible contained little 
 but the grand facts of creation and redemption, 
 and these w r ere entirely new to this earnest young 
 soul who pored over its pages." The opening 
 sentence of this^book was, " In the beginning 
 
and Start from Japan. 9 
 
 God created the heavens and the earth." " He 
 says, * I put down the book and look around me, 
 saying. I Who made me, my parents ? No, my 
 God. God made my parents and let them make 
 me. Who made my table? A carpenter? No, my 
 God. God let trees grew upon the earth ; 
 although a capenter made up this table, it indeed 
 
 I came from trees ; then I must be thankful to God, 
 I must believe him, and I must be upright against 
 him.' " He at once recognised his Maker's 
 claim to love and obedience and began to yield 
 them ; he prayed, " Oh ! if you have eyes look upon 
 me ; if you have ears listen for me." It was a long 
 time after this, however, that he first learned to 
 pray as a man talketh with his friend. 
 
 " From this time his mind was fulfilled to read 
 English Bible, and he ' burned to find some teach- 
 er, or missionary,' who could teach him." 
 
 " His father was disturbed by his boy's new 
 notions and certain that he would get the whole 
 family into trouble, and on asking permission of 
 is prince and his parents to go to Hakodate, 
 where he hoped to meet some Englishman or 
 
 I American, he got not only a refusal, but a flog- 
 ging. Still, l my stableness did not destroy by 
 their expostulations.' He next applied to a rela- 
 
io Birth, Early Surroundings 
 
 tive of his prince, a noble, higher in authority and 
 rank than he, and got leave from him to go in one 
 of his prince's vessels to Hakodate," i Now he 
 had gained his point, neither his father nor his 
 prince could prevent him. 
 
 This was in March i864, and When he heard 
 this news, he exclaimed, " Oh heaven does not 
 cast me off, the great point of my business is in 
 this one thing," and he jumped for joy. He 
 went to his room, divided up his things and 
 packed up a bundle of those he wanted to take 
 with him, but he could not sleep at all till morn- 
 ing, and on March nth, old style, "with great 
 pain but with a resolute heart, he left his family in 
 tears and started on his search for truth, ' not 
 thinking, that when money was gone, how would 
 I eat and dress myself, but only casting myself on 
 the providence of God.' " 
 
 On the 13th, the ship sailed away from the 
 harbor and he was on the great ocean. He had 
 told his mother, that he would be gone a year, he 
 thought, but he little suspected then, that it would 
 be more than ten years before he would again see 
 his native city, and look into the faces of those he 
 loved. His diary for the next seven weeks is 
 intensely interesting. The sailing junk in which 
 
and Start fro: a Japan, II 
 
 e went, stopped at many of the principal towns, 
 long the coast, as Uraga, Sendai, Kumagasaki, 
 tc, to survey the harbors, or to escape storms. 
 ur young voyager was wow twenty-one years old, 
 nd he made good use of his time in, seeking for 
 1 the information possible about each of these 
 laces. His diary contains a minute description 
 f each one of them, a map of the harbor, the 
 overnor's name, the number of counties into 
 hich the province is divided, if a castle town, 
 he condition of the castle, and the history of the 
 province ; the size of the town, its taxes, whether 
 light or heavy, the productions of the place, what 
 kinds of woods are produced, what kinds of fish 
 are exported, etc., etc. 
 
 He is surprised at the great abundance of 
 the rice-whisky, or sake, which was * retailed 
 at three cents a quart. There was one other 
 item which he recorded in this diary con- 
 cerning these places, which I wish those for- 
 eigners, who, after a brief residence in Japan, go 
 home and report that its morality is superior to 
 that of Christian lands, could read or see for 
 themselves. His picture of the number of prosti- 
 
 Kutes in these trading towns is a fearful one, too 
 
12 Birthy Early Surroundings 
 
 these towns, he says there were from two to four 
 of these women in each house in the town ; he was 
 greatly astonished and shocked at it himself, 
 although he freely indulged in sake drinking with 
 his comrades while in these harbors. 
 
 April 2 1 st, old style, he reached Hakodate, then 
 an open port, with English, American and Russian 
 consulates in it. Young Neesima was, however, 
 doomed to disappointment at first, as he sought 
 in vain for any teacher of English, and his small 
 funds melted away very fast and he was obliged to 
 look about him for means to feed the outer man, 
 as well as the inner. In this he was successful, as 
 he fell in with Pere Nikolai, the Russian priest 
 who has since so successfully taught the religion 
 of the Greek Church, in Japan. Nikolai Avas glad 
 to secure his services as a teacher of Japanese, so he 
 removed to Nikolai's house, and began his work. 
 
 He found a few wide awake young Japanese 
 among the acquaintances he made, and among 
 them a clerk in an English store who could 
 speak English tolerably well, and who played a 
 most important part in the next great act in 
 the drama of Neesima's life. As he met with 
 these young friends from time to time, and 
 told them of his intense desire to learn foreign 
 
In Hakodate, 1864. 
 
and Start from Japan. 1 3 
 
 knowledge, they encouraged him, and on account 
 of the great difficulties connected with learning 
 it in Japan, the idea came to young Nee- 
 sima's mind of leaving the country altogether. 
 The more he saw of his native land, the more 
 he longed to be able to " ' bring a light into 
 the darkness'; but it was a very serious ques- 
 tion ; if he left the country, death would be 
 his only welcome back. To go was to adventure 
 himself, a penniless wanderer with an unknown 
 tongue, into a vast mysterious world of which he 
 only knew that truth was there. Worst of all, it 
 would bring grief and fear, possibly danger and 
 death, into the home he loved." He spent much 
 time in thinking over this momentous question ; 
 he discharged his duty as a teacher to Pere Niko- 
 lai faithfully, and as his employer went every day 
 to the Russian hospital to have his eyes treated, 
 young Neesima went with him, and in his diary, 
 he describes in minute detail, all the appointments 
 of this hospital, its buildings, its beds, its diet, its 
 medicines, and most of all, the fact that the poor 
 were treated without money and without price, 
 made a deep impression upon his mind. The 
 more he studied over the great question, the more 
 he felt impelled to leave his country; he even 
 
 
14 Birth, Early Surroundings 
 
 gradually found reasons to justify Him in goingy 
 notwithstanding the strong filial ties which bound) 
 him to his parents and friends. "He says, 'One" 
 reflection came upon my head,. that, although my; 
 parents made and fed me, I belong indeed to' 
 heavenly Father ; therefore I must believe him 
 and I must run in his way : then I began to search.' 
 some vessel to get out from the country.' " 
 
 If every soul was as loyal to truth as was this 
 one, as earnestly seeking it, as loyally obeying and 
 following it, this world would soon become the 
 very gate of heaven indeed. The young friend in 
 the foreign store who could speak English finally 
 secured for Neesima a passage in an American- 
 schooner bound for Shanghai. It was necessary, 
 to get away with the utmost secrecy. He made 
 all his arrangements, picked out a small bundle of 
 his clothes which he could carry on his back ; he 
 had a letter written, purporting to come from his 
 brother in Tokyo, saying that his father was very 
 sick, and that he must hurry home. Providen- 
 tially, Pere Nikolai had gone away out of town, but 
 he showed the letter to his servants and to some 
 others and removed all his goods to a friend's, 
 house. Toward evening, he took his little bundle; 
 of clothes and met his three friends for the last 
 
Dressed as a servant, 
 

 and Start from Japan. 1 5 
 
 time that evening. They had a supper together, 
 passed around the sake cup in token of friendship, 
 Neesima wrote a short poem, all wished him well 
 and wished they were going too, and bade him 
 good bye. Thus the hours were spent until near 
 midnight, when our young hero, dressed as a 
 servant, with his bundle on his back, sallied out 
 into the darkness, following one of his friends who 
 was dressed as a samurai with his two swords in 
 plain sight. They wended their way by back 
 streets down to the water's edge in a lonely spot, 
 where his friends had a small boat waiting for 
 him ; he was placed in the bottom of the boat and 
 covered up, with orders to appear as a woman who 
 was being taken out to the ship, if they were hailed. 
 It was 1 ow midnight, " a whispered word of 
 parting, hushed footsteps, the muffled dip of an 
 oar, and the true hearted young patriot who went 
 to seek light and blessing for his country, had 
 stolen awaj' from her shores like a culprit," and was 
 on an American schooner. This was June 14th, 
 1864, old style, but July 18th, new style. 
 
II. 
 
 TRIALS AND PREPARATION. 
 
" Wherein ye greatly rejoice, tho now for a little while, if need he, 
 
 ye have been put to grief in manifold temptations, that the proof of 
 your faith, being more precious than gold that perisheth, tho it is 
 proved by fire, might be found unto praise and glory and honor at 
 the revelation of Jesus Christ." I-Pet. I. 6, 7. 
 
 " A raveled rainbow overhead, 
 
 u Lets down to life its varying thread, 
 
 "Love's blue, joy's gold, and fair between, 
 
 (i Hope's shifting light of emerald green : 
 
 (i While either side, in deep relief, 
 
 u A crimson pain, a violet grief! 
 
 11 Wouldst thou amid their gleaming hue* 
 
 '' Clutch after those and these refuse ? 
 
 ;; Believe ! as thy beseeching eyes 
 
 u Follow their lines and sound the shies, 
 
 " There, where the fadeless glories shine, 
 
 " An unseen angel, twists the twine, 
 
 "And be thou sure, what tint soe'er 
 
 " The sunbeams' broken rays may wear, 
 
 u It needs them all, that broad and white, 
 
 " God's love may weave the perfect light." Mr*. A. D. T. Whitney. 
 
 " Through black leaves and stormy blast, 
 *' And out of the fog-wreath dense and dun, 
 " Guided and held shall the vessel run, 
 " Gain the fair haven, night being jxist, 
 "And anchor in the sun." Susan Coolidge. 
 
CHAPTER SECOND. 
 
 Our young friend was cordially received on 
 board the schooner by the kind hearted Captain, 
 but he could not sleep any that night, and in the 
 early morning Japanese officials were seen coming 
 to search the ship, to make sure that no Japanese 
 was secreted on board. The Captain hid Mr. 
 Neesima in his own private room, under a pile of 
 clothes. The officers came, and searched the ship, 
 even coming to the Captain's room, but our hero 
 was not discovered, and the ship weighed anchor, 
 spread her sails and moved out to sea. 
 
 And now our young exile began to think what 
 he had done. He had written a long letter to his 
 prince telling him of his decision, he had written 
 another to his home friends, urging them not to 
 mourn, that all would come out right ; but as he 
 passed out to sea, and saw the mountains of his 
 loved land fade from his vision and disappear, very 
 sad thoughts filled a very heavy heart. To add 
 to his anguish, he was expected to do servile 
 
20 Trials and Preparation. 
 
 work on the ship, and as he had never done any- 
 such work, but had always had servants to wait on 
 him, his samurai blood rebelled. Once or twice 
 when he was rudely ordered by the sailors to do 
 some menial work, he thought of seizing his sword 
 and cutting down the men who seemed to be 
 insulting him, but as he reflected that he could 
 not thus realise his great purpose, he calmed his 
 passions and meekly submitted to the indignity. 
 Again, he had less than four dollars in money 
 when he came on board, and this ship would only 
 go as far as Shanghai. What should he do then? 
 " He had a very disagreeable passage to Shang- 
 hai, and he was there for ten days in great doubt 
 and fear lest he should be betrayed and taken back 
 to Japan ; but finally, he had the joy of finding an 
 American vessel bound for Boston. By much 
 effort, he succeeded in making the Captain under- 
 stand that he would be glad to do anything, and 
 ask no other pay than to be taken to America, 
 and, ' I begged him if I get to America, please let 
 me go to a school, and take good education.' So 
 the Captain took him as his own servant, dressed 
 him in foreign costume," gave him the name, Jo, 
 "and on the voyage taught him navigation and 
 English." 
 
Trials and Preparation. 21 
 
 " The voyage was a long and roundabout one, 
 
 wever, to the goal of his wishes. The Wild 
 Rover sailed along the coast of China to Manila 
 and Saigon, trading here and there for eight 
 months, before turning towards home. While 
 they lay in the harbor of Hongkong, Mr. Neesima 
 found the New Testament in Chinese ; he felt that 
 he must have it, but how should he get it, since 
 he had promised to ask the Captain for no money? 
 He thought of his two swords, and he finally 
 exchanged his short sword for the New Testa- 
 ment. 
 
 At last, sails were set for the West, and in four 
 months from that time, the land of promise dawned 
 upon our wanderer." 
 
 During his life of a year, on the Wild Rover, as 
 Mr. Neesima told the writer, he began to read his 
 New Testament in the Chinese language ; it is 
 
 Iard work for art educated Japanese to read the 
 hinese books unless they have been pointed for 
 apanese eyes, as the arrangement of words in a 
 mtence is very different in the two languages. 
 He could only spell out the meaning, but he began 
 at Matthew and read on in course through Mat- 
 thew, Mark and Luke, and in the midst of the 
 voyage he came to the sixteenth verse of the third 
 
22 Trials and Preparation* 
 
 chapter of John, " God so loved the world that he 
 gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever be- 
 lieveth on him shall not perish but have eternal 
 life," and this made a very deep impression upon 
 him, and he felt that this was just such a Savior 
 as he needed. 
 
 His faith and patience were sorely tried on the 
 long voyage, and when he reached the harbor of 
 Boston, it seemed to him as if he was to be baf- 
 fled. " Directly after coming into port at Boston, 
 the Captain hurried down to Cape Cod to see his 
 friends, and for ten weeks, young Neesima was 
 left, ' with rough and godless men who kept the 
 ship,' doing hard, heavy work, such as he had 
 never been accustomed to do. Besides this, every- 
 body he met on the wharf frightened him ; they 
 told him, ' Nobody on shore will relieve you, 
 because since the war, the price of everything got 
 high ; ah ! you must go to sea again.' ' I thought 
 too,' he says, ' that I must work pretty well for my 
 eating and dressing, and I could not get in any 
 schools before I could earn money to pay to a 
 school. When such thoughts pressed my brain, 
 I could not work very well ; I could not read book 
 very cheerfully, and I only looked around myself 
 a long time as a lunatic' 
 
Trials and Preparation. 23 
 
 this tedious waiting time, the Captain had given 
 him a little money to amuse himself with on shore, 
 and he had bought a Robinson Crusoe, which he 
 found in a second-hand bookstore on Washington 
 treet, and Robinson Crusoe first taught him that 
 might pray to his heavenly Father as to a pre- 
 nt, personal friend. He had not yet fully 
 stered his New Testament in a foreign language, 
 his shipwrecked Robinson Crusoe prayed in his 
 tress, why might not he? So every night, after 
 went to bed, he ' prayed to the God, Please 
 n't cast me away into miserable condition, 
 ease let me reach my great aim.' 
 " How little we know when we pray how long 
 r heavenly Father has been preparing to answer 
 r prayers ! " What comfort there is in the thought 
 at both we, and our prayers, our needs, and 
 their answers, were all present with God when he 
 made his plan, and that he has been preparing 
 from all eternity to answer our prayers in the 
 best way ! 
 
 " That God who had turned this boy's heart 
 away from idols, who had inspired him to feel 
 after him, if haply he might find him, who had 
 said to him, ' Get thee out of thy country, and 
 
24 Trials and Preparation. 
 
 from thy kindred and from thy father's house, 
 unto the land that I will show thee ; ' this same 
 God had not neglected to prepare a place for him 
 in the land of promise to which he had led him. 
 He had brought the young wanderer across the 
 seas in a ship belonging to one of his own children, 
 straight to the hands of one whose joy it was to- 
 spend his strength and his wealth in the service 
 of his Master." 
 
 When the owner of the ship, the Hon. Alpheus 
 Hardy, was finally told by the Captain, of this bright 
 young Japanese who had thus come in search of 
 truth, he said to the Captain that he would pro- 
 vide some way for his support. " When I first 
 heard these things from my Captain," said Mr. 
 Neesima, " I jumped for joy, my eyes was fulfilled 
 with many tears, because I was very thankful to 
 him, and thought, ' God will not forsake me/ ' 
 Mr. Hardy met the young Japanese, later, and 
 asked him what his name was. " The sailors 
 called me Jo," was the reply. " You arc well 
 named," said Mr. H., " God has sent you to be a 
 savior to your people." His benefactor little 
 knew, when he spoke those words, how much of 
 truth there was in them. 
 
 Mr. Hardv's first thought was to make of him a 
 
Hon, Alpheus Hardy. 
 
Trials and Preparation. 25 
 
 louse servant and table boy, but he soon found 
 :hat he was not fitted for this, and in the mean time 
 rs. Hardy had asked him to write out the rea- 
 ins why he had left his native land and come to 
 .merica. He did so in his broken English, and 
 r hen Mr. and Mrs. Hardy read those words, they 
 jit that God had sent him, and they accepted the 
 icred trust, and decided to give him a thorough 
 education. 
 He was placed in Phillips Academy at Andover, 
 here he made the best use of his opportunities, 
 md where for the first time he fully realised his 
 >ins and publicly accepted Christ as his Savior, 
 miting with the church of Christ. Who can 
 loubt, however, that he was accepted of God be- 
 fore this, and that he would have been all ready 
 :o gladly bow before his Savior and worship him, 
 if he had died in the midst of his long voyage in 
 >earch of truth ? 
 
 Copy of a letter written by Mr. Nee- 
 ima when he had been in america less 
 tian a year, to the japanese friend who 
 helped him get away from hakodate. 
 
 Andover, Feb. 23,1866. 
 Mr. Munokite ; Dear sir ; 
 
26 Trials and Preparation. 
 
 I am very well through God's mercy. Since I 
 commenced my hazardous adventure, I have spent 
 many valuable days in hard work ; oh ! sometimes 
 I had very miserable work ; but this work I did 
 not do for money but for true knowledge. When 
 I called on him who made heaven and earth and 
 sea and all that in them is, my sorrow turned into 
 joy and my misery to success. Oh ! I may surely 
 say it is very wonderful and marvelous that such 
 success has fallen on me. I passed through many 
 thousand miles of water very safely without hurri- 
 cane, tempest, or any trouble When I came to 
 Boston the ship's owner, Mr. Alpheus Hardy, and 
 the ship's Captain, Horace S. Taylor, relieved me 
 from my miserable condition, and give me all 
 things which I needed and sent me to the academy 
 at Andover, Mass., to get an education, paying 
 my board and all expenses. 
 
 I came to the house of Mr. Hidden, he don't 
 keep any boarder but me only, and he and his 
 sister care for me as much as for one of their own 
 family, and I am very much enjoyed to stay here. 
 Also I find a kind and religious man in Mr. Flint, a 
 neighbor who was a teacher of some higher school 
 for thirteen years. Every evening, he hears me 
 recite in Arithmetic, that is named Eaton's Higher 
 
Trials and Preparation. 2J 
 
 School Arithmetic, and his wife explains to me the 
 most holy and valuable book in the world, entitled 
 the New Testament and tells about our Savior, 
 Jesus Christ, who was sent down from his Father 
 to enlighten the darkness and save sinners. In 
 the academy I am studying Reading, Spelling, 
 Grammar, and the same Arithmetic; also I have 
 a Bible lesson every sabbath. All the teachers 
 and scholars and many who know about me are 
 interested in me and love me, and some give me 
 things to please me. But these things they don't 
 do for my sake, but for the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 O, dear friend, think you well who is Christ. 
 The same is the Light which shines on the be- 
 nighted and wicked world and guides us unto the 
 way of salvation. The light of candle is blown 
 away, but this is the true light of eternal life, and 
 we can by no wise blow it out, and we may take 
 this life through Jesus Christ. " For God so loved 
 the worlcl that he gave his only begotten Son, that 
 whosoever believeth on him should not perish but 
 have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son 
 into the world to condemn the world, but that the 
 world through him might believe." Sec John, 
 third chapter, 16 and 17 verses, New Testament. 
 
 O, dear friend, I have nothing to repay your 
 
28 Trials and Preparation. 
 
 kindness, but will send only, study the Bible, and 
 my photograph. Please care for your health and 
 study the book I have mentioned above. Oh, alas ! 
 it is not the country's law to study the Bible and 
 worship our tender and merciful Father who made 
 us, loved us and gave his only begotten Son, 
 through whom we may be saved. But the law 
 ought to be broken, because it is made by the 
 devil, the king of the world. The world was not 
 made by the devil, but by our true Father, who 
 gave unto us his true law. Oh friend, whether then 
 is right in the sight of God to hearken unto the 
 devil more than unto God, please judge you. 
 
 If the fierce devil persecute you for righteousness' 
 sake, don't trouble yourself, I am sure God will 
 protect you from all evil, and though your body 
 should be killed, your soul would be received unto 
 him and you would dwell in the brightest place 
 with eternal life. I would like, indeed, to go there 
 with you. 
 
 Your Truly Friend, 
 
 Neesima Simata. 
 
 In due time he was ready for college and 
 entered Amherst College, where he graduated in 
 1870. The statement of Pres. Scelye, when 
 asked for testimonials for Mr. Neesima as he was 
 
,. 
 
 Trials and Preparation, 29 
 
 bout to return to Japan, will be a sufficient com- 
 ment upon his faithfulness in college. Said the 
 President, "You CANNOT GILD GOLD." 
 
 His faithfulness and thoroughness as a student, 
 e shown by the fact that he had in his possession 
 pile of large books nearly two feet high, which 
 e rilled with lectures and notes which he copied 
 r wrote out while he was in College and in the 
 heological Seminary. 
 
 He entered Andover Theological Seminary, and 
 
 n the fall of 1 871, when I was in attendance at the 
 
 eeting of the American board at Salem, Mass,, 
 
 ust before I sailed to Japan, Mr. Neesima elbow- 
 
 d his way through the great crowd and found me ; 
 
 nd when I answered his eager question, that I 
 
 as going to Japan, he seized my hand and with 
 
 ears in his eyes, told me how glad he was to meet 
 
 e, and he wished me a hearty godspeed, and 
 
 aid he hoped to go back too, before long. 
 
 In the winter of 187 1-2, the second Japanese 
 mbassy, consisting of Messrs. Iwakura, Okubo, 
 ido, Ito and Tanaka, crossed the Pacific, and 
 after being snowbound for a week at Salt Lake 
 City, finally reached Washington. The embassy 
 
 I at once felt the need of some one to act as inter- 
 preter who could also help them in their search 
 
SO Trials and Preparation. 
 
 into the institutions of these foreign hinds, especi- 
 ally education. Hearing of Mr. Neesima who 
 had then been in America about seven years, 
 they sent an imperial mandate to him to appear 
 before them ; he was greatly troubled at this mes- 
 sage, but after much thought and prayer, he wrote 
 back, that he was an outlaw, that death hung over 
 his head for having left his native land, that he 
 recognised no ruler but the King of heaven, but 
 that if they would send him an invitation to come 
 and meet them as a friend, he would come. They 
 at once sent him such an invitation. Then the 
 question of how to meet them arose in Mr. Nee- 
 sima's mind. It had been the custom in Japan 
 from time immemorial for a man to bow to the 
 earth when meeting a superior and prostrate him- 
 self before him. Mr. Neesima finally decided to 
 meet them in the American way and went on to 
 Washington. 
 
 They received him kindly and told him what 
 they desired of him. He told them that he could 
 accept their offers and meet their desires only on 
 condition that they make out and give him a for- 
 mal pardon for having left his country, and also 
 another paper giving him the privilege of teaching 
 Christianity when he should return to his native 
 
Trials and Preparation. 31 
 
 with the imperial signet and gave them to him. 
 This brought a new joy to Mr. Neesima's heart, 
 he could now write to his loved ones at home ; he 
 could hear from them directly, and they could hear 
 from him. He had not dared to write to them, 
 or let them know of his welfare or whereabouts, 
 lest they should be all put to death. The long 
 silence and suspense were broken. The younger 
 brother had been made the head of the house in 
 place of the one who was not ; this younger 
 brother having no children had adopted a boy as 
 his son, and later, the brother had died, so that 
 this adopted son was the head of the house, and 
 Mr. Neesima never regained his position again, 
 but started a new house. Great was the joy of 
 the whole family to hear that the long lost son 
 was alive. 
 
 Mr. Neesima now spent a year with the Japanese 
 embassy, visiting all the capitals of Europe with 
 them, and devoting all his energies to help them 
 gain the information they desired. His "stable- 
 ness " and firm Christian principle shone out 
 during this visit to Europe. In most European 
 countries, the railroad trains run on the sabbath, 
 the same as on any other day, and the embassy 
 
32 Trials and Preparation. 
 
 often travelled on that day ; Mr. Neesima, however, 
 never travelled with them on the sabbath. He 
 told the writer that he always stopped off Saturday 
 night, alone, and followed on after them on Mon- 
 day. He spoke of one of these experiences, when 
 he stopped off, in France, Saturday night among 
 entire strangers, and not knowing French, he ex- 
 pected to have a lonely day, but he wandered 
 about and succeeded in finding a place where a 
 Christian service was being conducted, and enter- 
 ing, he found it was a communion service. He 
 remained and partook of the communion with 
 them, and although he could understand but very 
 little he spoke of it as among the most blessed 
 experiences of his life. 
 
 By his faithfulness and his conscientious ad- 
 herence to principle, he gained the confidence of 
 these men, a confidence which lasted till the day 
 of his death ; and when he came back to Japan 
 and wished to start his school, these men were at 
 the head of the government, and to his intimacy 
 with them and their firm confidence in him, the 
 Doshisha owes its existence. 
 
 Mr. Neesima's careful habit of looking into all 
 the details of whatever came in his way to ex- 
 amine, and especially his great interest in education 
 
Trials and Preparation. 33 
 
 which had led him to make a careful examination 
 of the common school system of the United 
 States, had prepared him to be of invaluable 
 service to the embassy and to his country. He 
 examined the systems in several of the States, and 
 wrote out a carefully prepared paper which was 
 taken as the basis of the report which the embassy 
 made on education, and which was afterwards 
 modified and introduced into Japan, and is the 
 foundation of the system of education in the 
 empire to-day. 
 
 As the time drew near for the departure of the 
 embassy from Europe, to return home by way of 
 India, Mr. Neesima was pressed to accompany 
 them to Japan and it seemed that it would be 
 almost impossible for him to refuse to do so, but 
 a severe illness coming on at this time, compelled 
 him to remain behind, among strangers, until long 
 after the Embassy had sailed for Japan, so that, 
 on his recovery, he returned to his studies in 
 Andover. 
 
 He was very retired and studious in his manner, 
 although his intense thirst for knowledge would 
 lead him to break over his reserve and seek infor- 
 mation from his fellow students. He was greatly 
 afflicted with rheumatism during his last year in the 
 
34 Trials and Preparation. 
 
 Seminary, and he suffered from its effects at times 
 during the rest of his life. 
 
 He graduated in the summer of 1874, and now 
 the question of his return to Japan, what relation 
 he should sustain to the American Board, his 
 ordination, and his support, all came up for solu- 
 tion. It was finally decided that it was best that 
 he should receive ordination, before leaving for 
 Japan, and a Council of churches in the State 
 where he had spent ten years, was called. He 
 passed a very satisfactory examination and was 
 ordained as an evangelist, the first of his race 
 to take [upon himself this office. He was also 
 appointed a corresponding member of the Japan 
 Mission of the American Board. Mr. Hardy also 
 arranged to have sent to Mr. Ncesima each year 
 what he needed for his support, so that he was 
 placed above anxiety on that point. 
 
 He was now all ready to start back to his loved, 
 land and friends, but there was still one thing 
 which weighed upon his heart ; he had come to 
 America and seen for himself the light of Christian 
 civilisation ; he had drunk deeply at the fountains 
 of knowledge, and he felt an inexpressible longing, 
 to see such a fountain of true knowledge opened 
 in his own land ; he had not started on his world** 
 
Trials and Preparation. 35 
 
 ide quest for truth for himself ; he came for the 
 good of his people ; should he go back with a full 
 heart but with an empty hand ? The same Hand 
 which had so wonderfully led him to America and 
 which had taken care of him there and given him 
 such a preparation for his work, led him farther to 
 make an appeal which other hearts were ready to 
 second, and so begin an enterprise which should 
 be indeed a blessing to his whole people. 
 
 I quote here from Mr. Neesima's own words, 
 written in a letter, the last one in English, which 
 his hand ever penned, written only a few days 
 before his death. He says, " Fifteen years ago I 
 had a day-dream to found a Christian college. I 
 used to express my intense desire to found it, 
 especially to raise up Christian workers, to Dr. 
 Clark, secretary of the American Board, and also 
 to some other friends, but none of them gave me 
 any encouraging words. However, I was not 
 discouraged at all. I kept it within myself and 
 prayed over it. 
 
 In the fall of 1874, I was invited to attend the 
 annual meeting of said Board which was held in 
 Rutland, Vermont, to bid my last farewell to my 
 friends. I was then ordered to appear on the 
 platform on the very last day of the meeting. In 
 
36 Trials and Preparation. 
 
 the evening of the previous day, I called on Mr. 
 and Mrs; Alpheus Hardy, my benefactors, and 
 consulted with them about the advisability of my 
 bringing out my long cherished scheme, that is, to 
 found a Christian college in Japan, in my farewell 
 speech. Mr. Hardy was rather doubtful about my 
 attaining any success ; however, I was rather insist- 
 ing to do it, because it was my last chance to bring 
 out such a subject to such a grand Christian audi- 
 ence. Then he spoke to me half smiling and in a 
 most tender, fatherly manner, said, * Joseph the 
 matter looks rather dubious, but you might try it.' 
 Receiving that consent, I went back to the place 
 where I was entertained and tried to make a 
 preparation for the speech. I found my heart 
 throbbing and found myself utterly unable to 
 make a careful preparation. I was then like that 
 poor Jacob, wrestling with God in my prayers. 
 
 On the following day, when I appeared on 
 the stage, I could hardly remember my prepared 
 piece ; a poor, untried speaker : but after a minute 
 or two I recovered myself, and my trembling 
 knees became firm and strong; a new thought 
 flashed into my mind, and I spoke something quite 
 different from my prepared speech. My whole 
 speech must have lasted less than fifteen minutes ; 
 
Trials and Preparation. ^J 
 
 while I was speaking I was moved with the most 
 intense feeling over my fellow countrymen, and I 
 shed much tears, instead of speaking in their 
 behalf. But before I closed my poor speech, 
 about five thousand dollars were subscribed on the 
 spot to found a Christian college in Japan. That 
 generous subscription of our American friends 
 became the nucleus of the present Doshisha, 
 which is now recognised as the best and largest 
 Christian College in Japan". 
 
 It was entirely natural that the officers and 
 friends of the Board should not have encouraged 
 Mr. Neesima at this time to appeal for money to 
 found a College in Japan ; their work is an evangel- 
 istic work, and their efforts are constantly put 
 forth to secure contributions enough for their 
 regular work, and they must of necessity dis- 
 courage special appeals. The hand of God, 
 however, was evidently in the movement which 
 led to the foundation of the school. 
 
 The writer has heard from many persons who 
 were present at that meeting that it was a scene 
 never to be forgotten ; the intense earnestness 
 of this young Japanese, as he spoke of the great 
 blessings of a Christian education, which he had 
 received, and pictured to them, with broken voice 
 
38 Trials and Preparation. 
 
 and overflowing eyes, the darkness and need of his 
 own people ; the evident nervousness of the Sec- 
 retaries at the manly appeal which was made, for 
 the speaker said, " I cannot go back to Japan with- 
 out the money to found a Christian College, and 
 I am going to stand here till I get it." Then 
 Governor Page of Vermont arose and said, " Put 
 me down for one thousand dollars." Dr. Parker 
 of Washington followed with five hundred dollars. 
 Mr. Hardy with five hundred, William E. Dodge 
 with five hundred, and others with lesser sums, 
 until nearly five thousand dollars were raised. 
 
 
in. 
 
 LA Y1NC FOUNDATIONS. 
 
" Behold I lay in Sion for a Foundation, a Stone, a tried Stone, a 
 precious corner Stone of sure Foundation: he that helieveth shall 
 not make haste." Is. XXVIII. 16. 
 
 " And not only so, hut let us also rejoice in our tribulations : 
 "knowing that tribulation worketh patience ; and patience, probation ; 
 and probation, hope : and hope putteth not to shame; because the love 
 of God hath been shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Ghost 
 which was given unto us." Bom. V. 3-5. 
 
 " The good man does better than he knows." 
 
 " Fasten your soid so high that constantly, 
 " The smile of your heroic cheer may float, 
 "Above the floods of earthly agonies." E. B. Browning. 
 
 " God's glory is a wondrous thing, 
 
 * Most strange in all its ways, 
 
 " And of all things on earth, least like 
 
 " What men agree to praise. 
 
 " Oh, blest is he to whom is given 
 
 " The instinct that can tell 
 
 u That God is on the field, when he 
 
 u Is most invisible ! 
 
 11 And blest is he who can divine 
 
 " Where real right doth lie, 
 
 " And dares to take the side that seems 
 
 u Wrong to man's blindfold eye ! 
 
 " Oh, learn to scorn the praise of men ! 
 
 u Oh, learn to lose ivith God ! 
 
 "For Jesus won the world through shame, 
 
 u And beckons thee his road, 
 
 " And right is right, since God is God ; 
 
 " And right the day must win ; 
 
 " To doubt would be disloyalty, 
 
 " To falter would be sin ! " 
 
 Faber. 
 
CHAPTER THIRD 
 
 r 
 
 Mr. Neesima reached Japan on his return, in 
 ecember, 1874. He found great changes had 
 aken place during his ten years absence. The 
 ikado was reinstated, his capital was changed 
 rom Kyoto, where his ancestors had ruled for a 
 housand years, to Tokyo ; the Daimios had relin- 
 uished their feudal rights, and the pensions of 
 heir retainers were capitalised ; the Julian or 
 regorian calendar had been adopted, and the 
 sabbath was made a holiday ; the Post Office with 
 a Money Order system, a Savings Bank system 
 and a Postal Delivery system were established .; 
 newspapers were being printed and circulated ; an 
 rmy and a navy on a foreign plan were formed ; 
 a mint was established ; the coast was being sur- 
 rounded with light houses ; the first railroads were 
 opened, and a network of telegraphs were unifying 
 the old feudal kingdom. Most of these changes 
 had taken place one or two years before Mr. 
 Neesima returned. The great question of con- 
 
42 Laying Foundations. 
 
 stitutional liberty was beginning to be agitated and 
 the men whose confidence and love Mr. Neesima 
 had gained in his intercourse with the embassy, 
 three years before, were at the head of the Govern- 
 ment. Their prejudices had been removed and 
 their minds broadened by their intercourse with 
 Western nations, and they were ready to encourage 
 the adoption of Western civilization in their own 
 empire. 
 
 Mr. Neesima was offered, again and again, places 
 of high position under these men and urged to 
 accept them, but he steadily declined them. He 
 allowed nothing to turn him from the great pur- 
 pose of his life to establish a Christian College in 
 his native land. 
 
 Soon after landing in Yokohama, he visited his 
 aged parents who had gone back to their native 
 province and were living in Annaka. There were 
 at this time small churches in Tokyo, Yokohama, 
 Osaka and Kobe, but it was hardly safe to profess 
 Christianity, even in the open ports. Away from 
 the open ports there was very little, if any, effort 
 on the part of any Japanese to teach the forbidden 
 doctrines. But no sooner did Mr. Neesima reach 
 Annaka, seventy-five miles from Tokyo, than the 
 people began to beg him to tell all about foreign 
 
Laying Foundations. 43 
 
 countries, and he took that opportunity to openly 
 .tell them about Christianity ; he did this so boldly 
 for several days that the Governor of that province 
 became troubled. Mr. Neesima was plainly vio- 
 lating the old law, but yet he was no ordinary 
 rrsori ; he had been attached to the Iwakura 
 embassy and was already a widely known man. 
 To arrest or even caution him might have some 
 unknown results ; so the Governor went hastily in 
 person to Tokyo, and laid the matter before some 
 of the men who were at the head of the govern- 
 ment. They replied, "If it is Neesima, it is all 
 right, let him alone," so the Governor returned 
 
 itisfied, and the work was begun which resulted 
 in the organisation of the Annaka church a few 
 rears later under the labors of Mr. Yebina, and 
 ;he Annaka church, with the five other churches 
 
 ithin a very few miles, which have sprung 
 from it, make it probably the most thoroughly 
 evangelised community in Japan. Several of 
 the members of that provincial assembly and a 
 
 lajority of the standing committee are Christian 
 
 icn and two-thirds of the members of the 
 Imperial Diet, elected from that province, are 
 
 Christians. From the time of Mr. Neesima's visit 
 Annaka dates the entrance of Christianity Into 
 
44 Laying Foundations. 
 
 the heart of Japan, and that was the beginning of 
 the fearless preaching of the gospel in the Interior. 
 The same Count who gave to the Governor the 
 reply mentioned above, himself told Mr. Neesima 
 of this fact a short time afterwards. 
 
 After a few weeks spent with his friends in An- 
 naka, preaching the Gospel, Mr. Neesima came on 
 to Kobe and Osaka to confer in regard to the es- 
 tablishment of the Christian College. 
 
 A short time before Mr. Neesima's return, our 
 Mission received a letter from Secretary Clark 
 telling us that five thousand dollars were waiting 
 to found a Collegiate and Theological training 
 school to train Christian workers for Japan. We 
 had not yet begun to think of such a school, or at 
 least, we felt that it was far in the future; our first 
 two churches had been organised that year, one 
 in Kobe with eleven members, and one in Osaka 
 with seven members ; a few young men were 
 found ready to listen to the truth, also, in Sanda r 
 twenty miles from Kobe, but the villages about 
 Kobe, and between Kobe and Osaka were so much 
 opposed to Christianity that it was impossible to 
 even teach a few men in a hotel, or tea house. 
 
 Mr. Neesima tried for several months to secure 
 permission from the Governor of the Osaka-Fu to 
 
Laying Foundations. 45 
 
 establish the College in that city ; he saw the 
 Governor many times and urged his plan ; the 
 Governor told him he would approve the estab- 
 lishment of the school there, but that no mission- 
 ary should teach in it, so Mr. Neesima reluctantly 
 gave up hope in Osaka, and then our thoughts 
 were turned to Kyoto ; but Kyoto was an interior 
 city, where foreigners had never been allowed to 
 reside ; it had been the center of Buddhism and 
 Shintoism in Japan for a thousand years, and, 
 moreover, it was away from the centers of work 
 which our Mission had opened. 
 
 The Mission, however, gave a reluctant consent 
 to the location of the school in Kyoto, if permis- 
 sion could be secured, and in the summer of 1875, 
 Mr. Neesima went to Kyoto, to see what could be 
 done. The Lord had prepared the way before 
 him ; the city had been opened for one hundred 
 days during the three previous years, while the 
 exhibition was held there, and Rev. O. H. Gulick 
 had spent three months in the city during the 
 summer of 1872, and had made the acquaintance of 
 Mr. Yamamoto Kakuma, a blind man who was then 
 a private Counselor to the Kyoto Fu, Others of 
 our Mission had met him during the next two 
 summers and he had become greatly interested in 
 
46 Laying Foundations, 
 
 Christianity. When Mr. Neesima presented his 
 plan for the establishment of a Christian College 
 in Kyoto to Mr. Yamamoto, he was ready to give 
 it his warm approval from the first, and he used 
 his strong influence with the Governor of the 
 Kyoto-Fu in the same direction, so that the 
 Governor, also, gave his approval to the scheme. 
 
 The writer made a hasty visit to Kyoto in 
 June of 1875 and, with Mr. Neesima, locked at 
 a lot of land containing five and a half acres, 
 6500 tsubo, situated in the northern part of the 
 city, just above the old palace grounds, and with 
 a large temple grove of one hundred acres on the 
 north side of it. This land was the former site of 
 the palace of the Satsuma Daimio, the last resi- 
 dent being Shimadzu Saburo. It was now in the 
 possession of the blind Yamamoto, and he gladly 
 sold it to us for the school, for the sum of five 
 hundred and fifty dollars. 
 
 Thus the site for the school was secured. What 
 should be its name ? Many names were thought 
 of, but finally, the name, " Doshisha," was de- 
 cided upon ; this means one endeavor, or one pur- 
 pose company. Mr. Neesima was in Kyoto all the 
 summer of that year except during a hurried visit 
 to Tokyo. Although the approval of the local 
 
Laying Foundations. 47 
 
 government had been secured for the location of 
 the school in Kyoto, the approval of the central 
 government was necessary. A building must also 
 be secured for the school and permission for a 
 family to reside in Kyoto, and for a missionary to 
 teach in the school. Mr. Neesima was busy with 
 all these plans, and his heart was stirred also to 
 find some way by which the Gospel could be freely 
 taught in the school and in the city and all over 
 the empire. 
 
 He writes, Aug. 2nd, " I had a most interesting 
 
 interview with Mr. , a young man who 
 
 is connected with the educational department at 
 Tokyo. He told me that he will do his best to allow 
 missionaries to be hired in our Kyoto school : but 
 for teaching Christianity in it, he has no power to 
 say much, because as Christian religion, it comes un- 
 der Daikiyoin, or Department of Religion. I think 
 it would not do for us to present this matter to Dai- 
 kyoin, because they will never do us any favor. So 
 I think a best way will be to try to get religious 
 freedom in the empire. I will write to our influ- 
 ential men in the cabinet and induce them to work 
 
 for it. Mr. promised me to work for it 
 
 privately among the radical statesmen. He rather 
 asked me to come to Tokyo to see them myself r 
 
48 Laying Foundations, 
 
 In the first place I must get a letter from my na- 
 tive province which will assure the Kyoto govern- 
 ment that I belong to that ken, and will hence- 
 forth become a citizen of Kyoto. Then I can 
 make my religious faith known to the Kyoto 
 government; it will be the very first thing ever 
 done in Kyoto. I think the Kyoto government 
 will present the matter to the central government. 
 If case requires, I will present myself to the cen- 
 tral government ; then, as I said above, in the 
 meantime, I will work privately for religious free- 
 dom among the radical statesmen. I think this 
 is the only way to get Kyoto open for our Christ- 
 ian Institution." 
 
 Aug. 24th, he writes, " I have already present- 
 ed the petition for our school, and especially for 
 hiring a missionary, and in order to gain the Govern- 
 or's favor I made a friendly call on him last night. 
 He strongly advised me to go to Tokyo as soon as 
 possible, or not any later than our petition reaches 
 the central government. I am deliberately follow- 
 ing the advice of the Governor who so recently 
 came back from Tokyo and knows exactly the pre- 
 sent state of things in the central government." 
 
 Mr. Neesima hurried off by jinrikisha overland 
 to Tokyo, and reached there as soon as the peti- 
 
Laying Foundations. 49 
 
 tion did. He saw Mr. Tanaka who was at the 
 head of the Department of Education. Mr. 
 Tanaka was Mr. Neesima's special friend, having, 
 become such while they \\<ere in Europe together. 
 He told him however, at first, that it would be im- 
 possible to grant permission for a Christian school 
 to be opened in the city of Kyoto ; it was regard- 
 ed as the sacred city of the empire and he feared 
 great opposition and prejudice on the part of the 
 people. Mr, Neesima saw him again and again, 
 during three days, and Mr. Tanaka finally told him 
 that if he would be very careful not to do anything 
 to arouse the opposition of the people he would 
 grant the permission. Thus the permission was 
 finally granted to open the school in Kyoto. Mr. 
 Neesima also formed a company consisting of him- 
 self and Mr. Yamamoto to open the school, hire 
 teachers, etc. ; this company of two was the Do- 
 shisha for several years. 
 
 The present writer having been engaged as the I 
 first foreign teacher in the school, Mr. Neesima 
 wrote, Oct. nth, in regard to a house for my 
 family and one for the school ; in this letter he 
 says, " I hope his reply will come within to-day. 
 I think it is pretty early for me to say to-day, it 
 is now 3-30 A.M. I awoke at a quarter before two 
 
SO Laying Foundations. 
 
 o'clock, and could not sleep again, so I got up 
 sometime after two o'clock and wrote a pretty 
 
 long letter to Mr. to get permission to rent 
 
 his house. Can you do anything for this sleepless 
 old fellow? I am exceedingly tired but can't 
 sleep. " Again Oct. 16th, five days later, he writes, 
 " I have been sleepless these past five nights, but 
 I slept first-rate last night. I hope I shall do so 
 again to-night. My hope for Kyoto was quite 
 brightened up." The reason for his brighter 
 hopes was that the permission for my residence in 
 Kyoto, which had been pending so long, and for 
 which he had been writing and telegraphing to 
 Tokyo, had come, and the way was open for him 
 to commence the school. He had had a long 
 anxious summer. 
 
 I entered Kyoto with my family Oct. 19th, and 
 settled down in a part of the old Yanagiwara 
 yashiki on the east side of the Imperial palace and 
 Mr. Neesima had a little house on Shin Karasu- 
 maru, above Maruta Machi. Mr. Neesima had a 
 small company to whom he preached and taught 
 the Bible in his own house each sabbath all sum- 
 mer ; I began a similar service in my house the 
 first sabbath we were in the city, and only six were 
 present, but both audiences increased so that in a 
 
Laying Foundations. 51 
 
 few weeks they numbered from thirty to sixty. 
 
 We had hardly entered the city, however, be- 
 fore the Buddhist priests held many meetings and 
 finally sent a strong petition to the central govern- 
 ment to have us expelled from the city. I find 
 written in my diary of Nov. 19th, " The opposition 
 of the priests is having its effect upon the officials 
 of the city ; they are less friendly. The acorn is 
 in the bottle, however, and it will, in time, with 
 God's blessing, split the bottle." 
 
 Mr. Neesima made applications about this time 
 for Dr. Taylor and Dr. Learned to teach in 
 the school, and he was very greatly tried for 
 five months before they were granted. I will 
 quote from my diary, of Monday, Nov. 22nd, to 
 show how he was tried. " Mr. Neesima has called 
 several times during the last week or two to see 
 the Governor, but always found him not at home. 
 Friday evening last, he called again, and was told 
 that he was too busy to see him ; he went early 
 Saturday morning and was told that it was too 
 early; he went a little later and was told that the 
 Governor was about starting for the office ; he in^ 
 quired through the servant if he could see him in 
 the evening, and was told that he could not pro- 
 mise ; he went home, and yesterday he received, 
 
52 Laying Inundations. 
 
 notice to appear at the office this morning and ex- 
 plain what he meant by Scisho, Bible, in the 
 list of studies as put forth in the program of 
 the school." The only result of the sending of the 
 strong petition of the priests to Tokyo, so far as 
 we know, was that Mr. Tanaka the head of the 
 Department of Education sent a request to the 
 Governor of Kyoto, asking that, for the present, 
 we would not teach the Bible in the school. Mr. 
 Neesima gave him a written promise to that effect 
 on the 22nd of Nov. The Governor told him that 
 we could teach Christianity in the school under 
 the name of moral science, and teach everything 
 there except Bible exegesis, and that we could 
 teach that and preach in our homes. This request 
 was made by Mr. Tanaka for fear of trouble in the 
 city, as there was great excitement about our com- 
 ing to open a Christian school. The owner of the 
 building we had rented for the school had given 
 Mr. Neesima notice that he wanted his house for 
 himself, and that we could not have it, but after 
 this Bible teaching was arranged with the Gover- 
 nor, the owner concluded to let us have it. 
 
 From my diary, Nov. 29th, 1875. " We began 
 our school this morning in Mr. Neesima's house 
 at eight o'clock, with a prayer meeting, in which 
 
Laying Foundations. 
 
 53 
 
 ill the scholars took part, then going to the school- 
 louse, two others were received, making seven 
 
 >arding scholars and one day scholar." I never 
 >hall forget Mr. Neesima's tender, tearful, earn- 
 est prayer in his house that morning as we began 
 :he school ; all prayed from the heart. Dec. 4th,. 
 *e had twelve scholars. We worked on through 
 :he winter, the school growing gradually, until we 
 tad about forty scholars ; the attendance at the 
 
 .bbath services increasing, until sixty or seventy 
 
 r ere present ; the passes for Drs. Taylor and 
 
 .earned giving Mr. Neesima trouble all winter 
 
 md finally being sent on to Tokyo and granted 
 
 in March 1876. 
 
IV. 
 
 MARRIAGE, TRIALS, WORK. 
 
" In love of the brethren, be tenderly affectioned one to another ; 
 in honor preferring one another ; in diligence not slothful; fervent 
 in spirit ; serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope ; patient in tribulation ; 
 continuing steadfastly in prayer." Horn. XII. 10-12. 
 
 " For marriage is a matter of more worth 
 
 " Than to be dealt in by attorneyship ; 
 
 " For ivhat is wedlock forced but a hell, 
 
 " An age of discord and continual strife; 
 
 " Whereas the contrary bringeth forth happiness, 
 
 u And is a pattern of celestial bliss." Shakespeare. 
 
 u Sorrow and silence are strong, 
 
 " And patient endurance is Godlike." Longfellow. 
 
 " Leave God to order all thy ways, 
 
 fC And hope in him, whate'er betide ; 
 
 *' Thou'lt find him in the evil days 
 
 " An all-sufficient strength and guide ; 
 
 *' Who trusts in God's unchanging love, 
 
 " Builds on a rock that naught can move." George Newman. 
 
 " Life is real, life is earnest : 
 " And the grave is not its goal ; 
 " 'Dust thou art, to dust returnest,' 
 " Was not spoken of the soul. 
 p u Let as then be up and doing, 
 " With a heart for any fate : 
 * Still achieving, still pursuing, 
 " Learn to labor and to ivait." Longfellou-. 
 
 "Blind unbelief is sure to err, 
 
 " And scan his u-ork in vain ; 
 
 fi God is his oivn interpreter 
 
 "And he will make it plain." Cow per. 
 
CHAPTER FOURTH, 
 
 Soon after Mr. Neesima came to Kyoto, he met 
 Yamamoto Yaye, a sister of the blind Counselor 
 of the Kyoto Fu ; meeting her again and again 
 at her brother's house, he became acquainted 
 with her, and the intimacy rapidly ripened into 
 affection, and in the autumn of that year they 
 were engaged. 
 
 On Sabbath. Jan. 2nd, 1876, the Lord's supper 
 and also the ordinance of baptism were celebrated 
 for the first time in the city at the regular service at 
 my house. Yamamoto O Yaye, received baptism 
 at that time, and the next day, Jan. 3rd, in the 
 presence of all the members of our school, of the 
 ex-daimio of Tango and his daughter, of several 
 friends whom we had made in the city, and of Mr. 
 Yamamoto's family, Mr. Neesima and O Yaye 
 were united in marriage. This proved a very 
 happy union, and Mr. Neesima had a faithful, 
 loving wife during all the years until God called 
 hirn up higher. 
 
58 Marriage, Trials, Work. 
 
 In the letters he wrote us from America, while 
 there in 1885, it was very touching to see how 
 much he felt the separation from Mrs. Neesima, 
 and how he also remembered to ask us to help her 
 bear her loneliness. 
 
 Mr. Sears, a wealthy Boston gentleman, whose 
 acquaintance Mr. Neesima made while in the 
 United States, sent out a sum of money for Mr. 
 Neesima to use to build him a comfortable home, 
 and also another sum to build a chapel. He se- 
 cured a large lot on Teramachi above Maruta 
 Machi and there built a home for himself. 
 It was several years before we could secure 
 any places in the city for preaching and a 
 service was held at Mr. Neesima's house and the 
 school met at my house each sabbath afternoon 
 for more than two years. At this latter preach- 
 ing service more than two hundred people often 
 gathered to hear the Gospel. When the house in 
 which I had lived was torn down, and Mr. Nee- 
 sima's house was built, the school preaching ser- 
 vice and the sabbath school were held at Mr. 
 Neesima's home ; this becoming too small, the 
 money given by Mr. Sears was used to build a 
 chapel adjoining Mr. Neesima's house. Mr. Nee- 
 sima used often to preach in those days, and his 
 
Marriage, Trials, Work. 59 
 
 sermons were very impressive ; his intense earnest- 
 ness and feeling impressed all who heard him. 
 
 To show the difficulty we met in trying to 
 teach Christianity at this time, one example may 
 be given. A physician in Fushimi, a southern 
 suburb of Kyoto, asked us to come down to his 
 house and teach the gospel ; the writer went down 
 one sabbath and gave him and a few of his friends, 
 who had assembled in his house, a talk about the 
 true God ; the next sabbath Mr. Neesima went 
 down and talked to the five or six people who 
 assembled ; for this, the physician was summoned 
 to appear at the Kyoto-Fu, and told that he must 
 not allow such meetings at his house. All who 
 had listened, or who had received any tracts were 
 also summoned to appear at the office, and very 
 closely questioned and frightened. The physician 
 was summoned for the third time. 
 
 The following is a part of the conversation 
 which occurred between the Fu officials and this 
 physician on the last day, when he was discharged. 
 " This Davis came up here to teach an English 
 school, did he not?" "Yes." " Then he is like 
 a man who has a license to sell deer meat, but 
 who sells dog meat." "Well, is it dog meat? I 
 used to think so, but on tasting of it, I find it is a 
 
60 Marriage, Trials, Work. 
 
 great deal better than deer meat, and I would 
 like to ask you one question ; this way is allowed 
 to be taught publicly in Kobe, in Osaka, and in 
 twenty or thirty places in Tokyo. How is it that 
 here, in the Kyoto Fu, a man is not allowed to 
 hear it in his own house ? Are we not all under 
 the same government ? I do not understand it." 
 " Well," says the official, '* I do not say that way 
 is either good or bad, and I do not say that you 
 and your friends cannot hear it in your house, but 
 you let in the common people, the lower classes, 
 who cannot understand it ; we cannot allow this. 
 We have good and sufficient religions here in 
 Japan, we do not want any more ; we have Con- 
 fucianism for the scholars like you, and Buddhism 
 for the masses." The Dr. replied, " I would 
 like to ask you one thing ; if Confucianism is an 
 all-sufficient religion, why is it, since its founder 
 lived hundreds of years before Christ, and taught 
 during a long life, that this way has not spread 
 beyond China and Japan ? So if Buddhism is an 
 all-sufficient religion, started by Buddha hundreds 
 of years before Christ, and taught by him through 
 a long life, how is it that it has not spread beyond 
 India, China and Japan; and if Christianity is a 
 bad way, how is it, since its founder only taught 
 
Marriage, Trials, Work. 61 
 
 three years, and was put to death when he was 
 thirty-three years old, that it has spread all over 
 Europe and America, and is spreading all over 
 Africa and Asia, and all the islands of the sea?" 
 " Well we do not say that it is either good or bad, 
 but you must not allow people to meet at your 
 house, and you are discharged," replied the official. 
 The 'physician came from the Fu right to my 
 house and told me this at the time and I copied 
 it in my diary. He borrowed a quantity of books 
 and tracts, took them home, and lent them to his 
 neighbors ; but his practice gradually fell off, and 
 he came near to starvation, so prejudiced did the 
 people become against him, and he finally lost his 
 interest in Christianity. 
 
 This opposition on the part of officials, and the 
 fact that the Bible was not allowed to be taught 
 in the school, caused much dissatisfaction in the 
 Mission, so that after the permission for Drs. 
 Taylor and Learned had been granted, and before 
 they moved into the city, about the middle of 
 March, a special meeting of the mission was called 
 in Osaka, and half a day was spent over the 
 question of abandoning Kyoto, and locating the 
 school where the missionaries could be free to live 
 and to teach the Bible. Although one of the Mis- 
 
62 Marj'iage, Tibials, Work. 
 
 sion afterwards said it was " the most reluctant 
 vote the Mission ever gave," the vote was given to 
 remain, none dissenting. A few months later, the 
 last of June, a vote was given by the Mission to 
 approve of the erection of two buildings on the 
 ground bought for the school. It was a very 
 reluctant vote ; but the fact that most thought it 
 very doubtful if the erection of the buildings 
 would be allowed by the government, helped the 
 doubtful ones, and the vote was given, none dis- 
 senting ; one brother said, however, " Brethren, 
 you may just as well try to fly to Mars as to try 
 to put up those buildings, it will not be allowed." 
 In just three months and twenty days from that 
 time, this brother sang in the new buildings, 
 " We'll hold the fort," etc., and took part in the 
 exercises of dedication. 
 
 As the buildings stood completed, however, and 
 the day appointed to open the school in them 
 drew near, and the temporary restriction in regard 
 to the Bible still held, many of the members of 
 the Mission were greatly exercised about opening 
 the training school of the Mission in the new 
 buildings ; some were in favor of demanding the 
 removal of the restriction, and in case it was 
 refused, then of abandoning everything, buildings, 
 
Mai'riage, Tria/s, Work, 6$ 
 
 work and all, and of leaving the city. One brother 
 wrote, " We have no Training school, the school 
 that will begin next week will not be the Training 
 school," etc. Another brothor wrote that he did 
 not believe that we should be allowed to teach the 
 Bible and pray in the school for three or five years, 
 perhaps not for fifteen or twenty years yet. 
 
 Within one of a majority of the members of the 
 Mission signed a call for a special meeting to 
 reconsider the whole question of the location of 
 the school in KyMo, and decide whether we should 
 open the school in the new buildings. Had it not 
 been that one member of the Mission had just 
 started overland to Tokyo and was at this very 
 time weather bound by a three days storm of wind 
 and rain, and wondering why he was permitted to 
 start at all, the meeting would have been called, 
 and no one can predict what would have been the 
 result. But the meeting was not called, and after 
 consultation with Mr. Yamamoto, it was decided, 
 >ince the excitement in the city had completely 
 subsided, to dedicate the new buildings with re- 
 ligious exercises, to have morning prayers in the 
 :hapel, to open all the recitations of the Theo^ 
 >gical Dep't. with prayer and to teach all the 
 studies and give all the lectures of the Theological 
 
64 Marriage, Trials, Work. 
 
 Dep't., except Bible Exegesis, in the new building, 
 and to secure a third building in Mr. Neesima's 
 name, for the Exegesis. The new buildings were 
 dedicated on the morning of Sept. 18th, 1876; they 
 consisted of what are now known as dormitories No. 
 one and No. two. The exercises consisted of a 
 prayer of Invocation, reading the Scriptures, sketch 
 of the founding of the school, prayer of Dedication, 
 addresses in Japanese and English, and the singing 
 of two hymns in Japanese and three in English. 
 
 This state of things led to continued criticism 
 of the school, and also to criticism of Mr. Nee- 
 sima as the virtual Japanese head of the school. 
 He felt these most keenly. He loved the members 
 of the Mission, and he was ever loyal to the Mission, 
 and anything which seemed to imply the contrary 
 pained him beyond measure. So great did the trial 
 become, that in Sept., 1876, the members of the sta- 
 tion sent a letter to the Mission to try to remove 
 some of these misunderstandings. I will quote a 
 few words from that letter, as they bring out one 
 of Mr. Neesima's remarkable characteristics. "Still 
 farther, Mr. Neesima and Mr. Yamamoto, as the 
 nominal proprietors of the school, so far from 
 interfering with our management of the school, 
 have from the first left everything in our own 
 
a: 
 
 
 OB 
 
Marriage, Trials, Work. 
 
 65 
 
 Liicls ; the exercises of the dedication, the manner 
 >f conducting morning prayers, what to teach, 
 r hen to teach, how to teach, the employment of 
 [apanese teachers, the ringing of the bell, the 
 lanagement of the food, all these things, instead 
 being suggested by them, have been suggested 
 >y us, and none of them even referred to Mr. 
 amamoto at all, and not half of them to Mr. 
 fecsima, and yet, so far as we know, Mr. Neesima 
 tas never hinted or thought a word of complaint, 
 asked that anything be changed. He even 
 >mes to us to consult about all the little details 
 )f his own classes. He has not expended a cent 
 >f the money which has been sent to him to use 
 he pleased for the school, without first consult- 
 ig us, and he has then invariably followed out 
 >ur suggestions. We have been as free to run 
 the school to suit ourselves, from our first con- 
 ation with it, as if there had been no Japanese 
 -oprietors, or as if it had been located in Chi- 
 :ago ". This can almost as truly be said after 
 fourteen years, as after one year. 
 
 Mr. Neesima was only anxious that the great 
 >urpose of his life should be carried out ; in regard 
 the details, he was willing to yield his way and 
 ill in with the suggestions of others. The first 
 
66 Marriage, Trials, Work. 
 
 few years of the existence of the school, were years 
 of great trial to him ; he stood between the 
 foreigners and the government, and he also stood 
 between the students and the foreign teachers, in 
 . \ some measure. He writes in 1885, referring to these 
 trials, " I often wonder how I came through the 
 deep muds of the past ; but I received the sustaining 
 courage and strength of the Unseen Hand.". 
 
 We must now notice, at some length, an- 
 other wonderful work, hardly less wonderful than 
 the calling and preparation of Mr. Neesima. In 
 the month of Feb., 1876, in the darkest days of 
 that first winter, when the opposition was so great 
 that it often seemed as. if we must fail of our 
 object of establishing a school in Kyoto, the 
 writer received a large letter by the Japanese post. 
 The handwriting was strange, the name, too, was 
 strange. It was written from the old castle town 
 of Kumamoto, in the middle of the island of Kiu- 
 shu, by Capt. L. L. Janes. In it he asked if we 
 could receive a number of earnest Christian young 
 men, graduates of his school, into our school, to 
 fit them for work as preachers of the Gospel. We 
 did not know that such a man was in existence ; 
 we did not know that such a school was in 
 existence. How did all this happen? 
 
Marriage y Trials, Work, 6j 
 
 Six months after this, Capt. Janes, while visiting 
 in Kyoto, told the writer of the origin of the 
 school and how he came to Japan. 
 
 Early in iSyi, the Japanese government wished 
 to secure some one to teach the army the foreign 
 system of drill, and a request went on to Washing- 
 :on for an army officer to come out for that pur- 
 pose. Capt. Janes was then a Captain in the regular 
 army, stationed in California ; he learned that 
 he was to be sent to Alaska, which had recently 
 been purchased from Russia, and he also heard 
 of this request for a man to go to Japan, so he 
 resigned his commission in the regular army and 
 secured the appointment to Japan. Before he 
 reached Tokyo, the government had decided to 
 employ a French teacher of military tactics, and 
 so Capt. Janes was left here, under pay, without 
 any work. 
 
 Just before this time, the members of the Jo-i, 
 >r foreigners-expelling party, in the old province 
 >f Higo in Kiushu, had banded together to start 
 
 school to train some men to help oppose all 
 
 r estern ideas and especially Christianity. They 
 had written to Tokyo, asking for a foreign teacher 
 >r this school, and the government were glad to 
 :nd Capt. Janes, and he was willing to go, so in 
 
63 Marriage, Trials, Work. 
 
 the summer or early fall of 1 871, he went with his 
 family alone into this interior city and began this 
 work. He told the writer that so great was the 
 hatred to Christianity, that he did not dare to let 
 it be known that he was a Christian for six months 
 after he began his work there. He made a 
 thorough course of English and Scientific study 
 for the school, covering four years ; after six 
 months, he gradually began to bring out the 
 arguments for the existence of a God. One day as 
 he thus made a deduction from science that there 
 is a God, one of his pupils who is now in a 
 responsible position as a Christian worker, said to 
 him, " You lie, sir." After a year or two, Capt. 
 Janes asked the members of the advanced class 
 who could understand some English to come to his 
 house on the sabbath and study the New Testa- 
 ment with him in English ; the young men went to 
 their patrons, who were supporting them in the 
 school, and asked them what they should do ; the 
 patrons had a long consultation, and finally called 
 the young men and said to them that this school 
 was started to prepare men to oppose Western 
 ideas and especially Christianity, but that in order 
 to most effectually oppose it, they needed to know 
 something about it ; hence they might go and 
 

 Marriage, Trials, Work. 69 
 
 learn the Bible with that object. So they went, 
 a few at first, the number gradually increasing un- 
 til fifteen or twenty went every Saturday evening 
 and Sunday afternoon. 
 
 They read through the Gospels in course and 
 the Acts and some of the Epistles, and, as some 
 of those young men have told the writer, Capt. 
 Janes talked to them about the love of God and 
 of Christ, with tears rolling down his cheeks ; this 
 went on for more than two years before he saw 
 any signs of yielding on the part of the men before 
 him. Finally the ice began to break up and Capt. 
 Janes sent the letter above referred to. On the 
 30th of January, 1876, nearly forty of the young 
 men in the school went up on the Hanaoka moun- 
 tain near the city and signed a solemn pledge, de- 
 dicating their lives to Christ for Japan. 
 
 No sooner was this fact known, than a great 
 storm broke over the school, the leaders of the 
 Christian band were taken out of the school and 
 imprisoned in their own homes, some of them for 
 one hundred days, and subjected to all kinds of 
 threats and indignities ; the mother of one of them 
 appeared before her son with sword in hand and 
 threatened to commit Harakiri, if he did not re- 
 nounce his faith ; but they stood firm. 
 
jo Marriage, J rials, Work. 
 
 Capt. Janes and his noble wife were the instru- 
 ments in God's hands to do this wonderful work ; 
 and as showing the spirit of the man and also 
 some phases of the work, I will quote from some 
 of Capt. Janes \s letters, received during those try- 
 ing months. In his first letter, dated Feb. 7th, 
 1876, he says, "My work in the school has been 
 accompanied from the time when it was possible 
 to speak of Christianity, by constant and direct 
 religious instruction of my pupils ; in fact, the 
 whole work has been inspired from the first, with 
 the one aim, on my part, of making it, under God, 
 subserve the founding and upbuilding here of the 
 kingdom of Christ, and so the highest welfare of 
 those committed to my instruction, and the large 
 community influenced by them and the school." 
 Again he writes, Mar. 4th, " Meantime, my boys 
 and I have been passing through unusual events 
 to say the least; and the mutterings of a sharp 
 and vindictive and exciting persecution are still in 
 the air around us." " I think the little colony is 
 practically intact ; no lives have been taken, tho 
 that w T as threatened seriously enough ; and there 
 are no cases of Harakiri, yet to report, tho a 
 mother in one family and a father in another took 
 that method of driving their sons from the faith ; 
 
Marriage, Trials, Work, yi 
 
 icir degradation was declared to be insupport- 
 ible." " I grieve over my imprisoned Christian 
 >oys. The physical strength of one is failing, and 
 
 ic unthinking persecutors may kill him. I under- 
 ta'rid there was an auto-de fe of his Bibles a few 
 lays since." 
 
 Again, May 25th, "They blame me here by im- 
 )lication, for educating preachers ; I say nothing, 
 mt I have come to see that they need preachers 
 md teachers of the ' True Light ' more than any 
 >ther educated workmen. The sham civilisation 
 :hey would build of a film of Western materialism, 
 dignified by the name of science and civilisation, 
 leaving the soul and all its needs unprovided for, is 
 a hollow bubble that would burst one of these days. 
 It is easy enough to kick a hole through it now ; 
 and unless the successive accretions are permitted 
 and made to crystalise around the central principles 
 of truth, justice and liberty, and a wisdom large 
 enough to satisfy the soul ; Christ, the soul's want ; 
 God, the soul's author ; and immortality, the soul's 
 destiny, why, I don't know but the old nursery 
 style were better than the violent ruptures and fear- 
 ful reaction that must occur, till the higher plane 
 of progress is reached." 
 
 Here are also a few words from a letter Capt. 
 
J1 Marriage \ Trials, Work. 
 
 Janes sent up by the first one of his graduates who 
 started for Kyoto, dated June 25th, 1876, " He was 
 one of the first to see the light, to be convinced of 
 the saving power of Christianity, and to give his 
 heart unalterably to Jesus, ' all to leave and follow 
 him,' and as a consequence, he has been subjected 
 to the most cruel and outrageous treatment at the 
 hands of his weak brother, acting under the in- 
 fluence of the persecuting party here, and an im- 
 prisonment of some one hundred and twenty days. 
 He was made the slave of the servants of his fami- 
 ly, who were instructed to treat him as a devil poss- 
 essed, without human rights. He is now, prac- 
 tically, an outcast. He is as a shorn lamb ; he is 
 leaving all." 
 
 In September, these young men came up, fifteen 
 graduates of Capt. Janes 's school, and as many 
 more under graduates, and entered our school; 
 these gradutes were most of them virtually cast 
 off by their friends for their faith in Christ, and 
 they came to us with the clothes they wore and 
 an English Bible, as their sole earthly possessions. 
 They found the school poorly organised and were 
 at first much dissatisfied. Capt. Janes, however, 
 encouraged them to stay, and they remained, and 
 spent three years in Theological study, supporting 
 
Marriage, Trials, Work. 
 
 73 
 
 ;hemselves by teaching the younger classes in the 
 
 school, and they graduated from the Theological 
 
 lepartment in June, 1879. Three of them were 
 
 etained as teachers in the school, and the others 
 
 r ent out as teachers and preachers and have been 
 
 imong the best Christian workers in Japan for the 
 
 last ten years ; Mr. Kosaki in Tokyo ; Mr. Yebina 
 
 in Joshu ; Mr. Miyagawa in Osaka ; Mr. Kanamori 
 
 in Okayama and Mr. Ise in Shikoku, have done 
 
 work which has changed the history of Japan 
 
 already. Five of these men are now connected 
 
 with the school as teachers. Their coming into 
 
 the school at that early day with their earnest 
 
 Christian purpose, gave a tone to the school, 
 
 ind their influence was felt in molding the Doshi- 
 
 >ha morally and m shaping its course of study 
 
 : rom that time. They have helped to make the 
 
 school what it is, and they came to love Mr. Nee- 
 
 >ima and be loved by him as brothers. 
 
 The school gradually increased in numbers, so 
 :hat during the third school year, we had over one 
 undred students ; such was the feeling of opposi- 
 ion in Kyoto, however, that we had very few 
 :udents from the city during the first five years : 
 iarly half of them came r from the island of 
 luehu, led by the example and influence of 
 
74 Marriage, Trials, Work. 
 
 the Kumamoto Band. 
 
 The opposition on the part of the officials in 
 Kyoto, grew stronger and stronger. Dec. 23rd, 
 1877, Mr. Neesima wrote, "I wish to inform you 
 of a recent event which happened in Kyoto : my 
 brother-in-law, the blind Yamamoto, lost his con- 
 nection with the Kyoto Fu yesterday ; I believe 
 he lost his connection with the Fu on account of 
 his connection with us." In the winter of 1879, 
 Dr. Learned 's permission to reside in Kyoto and 
 teach in the school, had nearly expired ; if his 
 permission was not renewed, it w r ould leave only 
 one foreign teacher in the school ; the requests 
 made by the Doshisha for others to teach in the 
 school had been refused, and Mr. Neesima was 
 very anxious during those months about the very 
 existence of the school. It was only after repeat- 
 ed solicitation with the Fu authorities here, and 
 a visit to Tokyo and a personal interview with Mr. 
 Mori, then at the head of the Foreign Department, 
 that Dr. Learned's permission was finally renewed. 
 
 There were several in the Mission who were 
 opposed during these first years to the plan by 
 which the school Avas located in Kyoto. It was 
 not strange that this was so ; the school was in an 
 interior city where foreigners could only reside on 
 
Marriage, Trials, Work. 
 
 75 
 
 issports which could be withdrawn at any time ; 
 :he school buildings and homes of the missionaries 
 diich were all built with money given by the 
 :hurches in the United States, could not be owned 
 the Mission ; the government could interfere 
 r ith the teaching of the Bible and of Christianity 
 the school ; the only wonder, as we now look 
 tck, is that any one was found to favour the lo- 
 ition of the school in Kyoto under these circum- 
 stances. Some opposed the plan of putting the 
 school in the hands of a Japanese company, and 
 some opposed the plan of helping it with foreign 
 money, and it sometimes seemed as if the school 
 would be removed from Kyoto. 
 
 The whole situation during these first years was 
 a great strain upon Mr. Neesima. This difference 
 of opinion and agitation in the Mission ; the op- 
 position on the part of some of the officials; the 
 :f usal again and again of permission for the need- 
 foreign teachers to teach in the school, and the 
 :onstant fear lest the great purpose of his life 
 Lould fail, weighed him down. Added to ali this 
 T as the fact that some of his best Japanese friends 
 >ld him he was ruining his influence by receiving 
 le money for his support from his benefactor, 
 [r. Hardy, and advised him to refuse to receive 
 
 <Jh 
 
7& Marriage, Trials, Work. 
 
 it and try to support himself. He was at one time 
 inclined to yield to the criticisms of his friends 
 and refuse to receive Mr. Hardy's benefaction 
 longer, and it was only by strong urging that he 
 was led to continue to receive it, as needed to help 
 him prolong his life and carry out his great pur- 
 pose. At one time, when all these trials seemed 
 to be crushing him, he said to the writer with 
 strong crying and tears, " Oh, that I could be cru- 
 cified once for Christ, and be done with it ! " This 
 opposition lasted about six years, and during that 
 time Mr. Neesima was under a strain of ereat 
 anxiety, most of the time, which seriously 
 affected his general health. 
 
 In 1876, a school for girls was opened in the 
 house of one of the missionaries, in which Mrs. 
 Neesima and Miss Starkweather taught, and about 
 two years later, it was removed to its present loca- 
 tion in a building erected for that purpose. The 
 care of all this school work, as it grew larger and 
 larger ; all the many questions which came up ; 
 the requests of students ; all difficulties ; and the 
 great number of outside calls which came upon 
 Mr. Neesima were a perpetual strain ; every diffi- 
 culty which arose in either school was brought di- 
 rectly to Mr. Neesima, and he must give his time 
 
Marriage, Trials, Work. 77 
 
 and strength to the settling of it. Then, again, 
 Mr. Neesima's reputation as one of the few men 
 who had been thoroughly educated abroad, and 
 his connection with the Iwakura embassy, brought 
 many callers to his house, and occupied a great 
 deal of his time ; he was also consulted in regard to 
 church work and missionary w r ork, and in difficul- 
 ties which arose in the churches, or between indi- 
 viduals. 
 
 His heart was always warmly interested in the 
 rapid spread of the Gospel in Japan, and he made 
 many missionary tours himself, and earnestly pro- 
 claimed the Gospel. He wrote from Tokyo, Feb. 
 13th, 1879, a letter from which the following is a 
 quotation, " I started for Annaka on last Friday 
 morning at three o'clock A.M." This was in the 
 B as ha y or wagon, which at that time ran be- 
 tween Tokyo and Annaka. " It was then snowing 
 and I found myself chilled through. I reached 
 Annaka toward evening ; although I found myself 
 rather tired, I was obliged to receive quite a 
 number of visitors that evening ; then, on Satur- 
 day, the visitors poured in from the early morning 
 and there was scarcely a time for me to rest till 
 the evening. We held a prayer meeting on that 
 evening. There were two candidates for baptism ; 
 
7 8 Marriage, Trials, Work. 
 
 the meeting lasted more than two hours. Another 
 church meeting was held on Sunday morning. In 
 the afternoon I preached in the usual way and 
 officiated at the Lord's supper. In the evening 
 we held a prayer meeting; it was a very warm 
 and lively meeting and lasted more than two hours. 
 I was so excited by the meeting that I could not 
 sleep at all. At twelve thirty A.M., on Monday 
 morning, I left Annaka on a coach and reached 
 Tokyo at one thirty P.M. I am glad to say that 
 the Annaka church is growing, and before the 
 summer there may be half a dozen candidates for 
 baptism. I have taken cold ever since I went to 
 Annaka." He took this ride of nearly a hundred 
 miles and thus hurried back, because he had had a 
 weighty case of arbitration put into his hands in 
 Tokyo, which he must attend to that Monday 
 afternoon. 
 
 Mr. Neesima, during those, years, usually at- 
 tended the business meetings of the Mission, and 
 also the prayer meetings in English of the station, 
 it being held once a week in turn at our houses, 
 his house having its turn with the rest. We shall 
 never forget his simple earnest prayers in English 
 at those meetings. He taught classes in the 
 school in the early years, and he always gained 
 
Marriage \ Trials, Work, 79 
 
 the deep love of his pupils, and of all who came 
 In close contact with him ; his silent influence in 
 the school was very strong and pervasive. He 
 also took an active part in the formation of the 
 Japanese Home Missionary Society, connected 
 with the Congregational churches, and had an 
 active part in superintending its work for many 
 years. 
 
\0ADEN1NG PLANS; TOUR ABROAD. 
 
" Commit thy icay unto the Lord; trust also in him, and he shall 
 hring it to pass." Bs. XXXVII. 5. 
 
 " Best is not quitting this busy career, 
 u Best is the fitting of self to one's sphere." 
 
 " Build thee more stately mansions, my soul, 
 " As the swift seasons roll ! 
 *' Leave thy low, vaulted past ! 
 " Let each new temple, nobler than the last, 
 " Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast, 
 " Till thou at length art free, 
 
 " Leaving thine outgrown shell by life's unresting sea." 
 
 0. W. Holmes. 
 " In the world's broad field of battle, 
 " In the bivouac of life, 
 " Be not like dumb, driven cattle, 
 " Be a hero in the strife. 
 *' Trust no future, howe'er pleasant I 
 " Let the dead past bury its dead I 
 " Act act in the living present ! 
 *' Heart within anl God o'er head ! " 
 
 Lonn fellow. 
 
CHAPTER FIFTH. 
 
 la the year 1883, Mr. Neesima began to think 
 and plan actively to enlist interest among Japanese 
 friends in the establishment of a university, or in 
 the broadening out of the Doshisha into a Christ- 
 ian university. Up to this time the school had 
 only been known in Japan as a Christian school,, 
 and the general idea among the leading men in 
 the empire was that it was a school simply for 
 training Christian preachers and evangelists ; this 
 w r as the very natural conclusion from the fact that 
 most of the graduates up to that time had en- 
 gaged in active Christian work. For this reason 
 it was a very difficult matter to appeal for help for 
 the school ; but Mr. Neesima never swerved from 
 his great purpose of a Christian school, nor from 
 stating that publicly in his appeals ; it was import- 
 ant to show the public that something besides the 
 Bible and theology were taught in the school, and 
 that its aim was a broader one than simply the 
 training of evangelists, but it was always made 
 
84 Broadening Plans; Tour Abroad. 
 
 very clear that the foundation of the school was a 
 Christian one and that Christianity was the found- 
 ation of the morality taught in it. 
 
 The writer was present at the first public meet- 
 ing held for the purpose of awakening an interest 
 in the university among the Japanese ; it was held 
 in a large hall in Kyoto in the spring of 1884. 
 About fifty of the officials and leading business 
 men of the city were present and Mr. Neesima, 
 Prof. Ichihara and the writer, each addressed the 
 meeting ; those addresses were all strong in their 
 statements that Christianity is and must be the 
 foundation of all moral education. Prof. Ichi- 
 hara 's speech was one of the most ringing appeals 
 for Christianity as the necessary foundation of all 
 education to which I ever listened. The printed 
 appeals which were made later speak for them- 
 selves. 
 
 The following is a free translation of the first 
 general appeal for the University. It was prepared 
 by Mr. Neesima and Mr. Yamamoto and issued in 
 May, 1884. " The recent political changes in Japan 
 have swept away feudalism which had been the 
 basis of society for many hundred years, and the 
 influence of these changes has grown stronger 
 and stronger until the society of Japan is very 
 
Broadening Plans; Tour Abroad. 85 
 
 greatly changed. It appears like a new Japan. 
 
 There are many who say that the government, the 
 education, the commerce and the industries which 
 have existed in Japan must be improved. We 
 heartily agree with their purpose as right and im- 
 portant to our civilisation, but at the present time, 
 when we look carefully at the condition of the 
 Country, there is one thing which gives us great 
 sorrow. What is that? It is that there does not 
 exist in Japan a university which is founded 
 upon the most pure morality and which teaches 
 the new science. | This is a necessary foundation 
 of our civilisation. In natural beauty and natural 
 advantages Japan is not inferior to Europe and 
 America. Why then is its civilisation so different 
 from theirs? It is also certain that there are in 
 Japan but few noted men of earnest purpose. 
 Hence we need universities in Japan. 
 
 " We can learn from the examples which Europe 
 gives us. In the sixteenth century, the great 
 leader, Luther, said, ' If parents or brothers refuse 
 to send children to school, they are enemies of the 
 state and they ought to be punished.' The learned 
 German, Fichte, said, ' The reason that our nation 
 stands first in civilisation among the countries of 
 Europe is in the power which comes from our 
 
S6 B re a icning Plans; Tour Abroad. 
 
 universities.' The twelfth century was the dawn- 
 ing period of European civilisation. At that time 
 Greek Philosophy was studied in the Paris Uni- 
 versity. In Italy the ancient Roman laws were 
 studied in the University of Bologna. Between 
 that time and the year 1600, the Universities of 
 Oxford and Cambridge were founded in England, 
 Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland, Prague, Hei- 
 delberg, Leipsic, Tubingen and Jena in Germany, 
 and Dublin University was founded in Ireland. 
 Besides these, universities have been foundej in 
 Holland, Spain, Portugal and Austria. 
 
 " Abelard, Roger Bacon, Kepler, Galileo, Lord 
 Bacon, Locke, Newton, Milton, Leibnitz, Kant, 
 Reid and Hamilton were famous in those countries 
 as great scholars. As reformers of politics and re- 
 ligion, Pym, Hampden, Pitt, Fox, Burke, Johnson, 
 Wycliffe, Luther, Calvin, and John Knox were 
 noted. By these universities all science and phi- 
 losophy have been improved and advanced, by 
 them feudalism and despotism have been des- 
 troyed, by them the social ranks and the powers 
 of the nobles and priests have been resisted, by 
 them the desire for liberty and the demand for 
 self-government have been aw*akend. The English 
 revolution and the religious reformation have oc- 
 
Broadening Plans; Tour Abroad. 8/ 
 
 :urred, which have completely changed the condi- 
 tion of Europe. In the year 1800 there were over 
 00 universities in Europe. That the civilisation 
 Europe has been rapidly advanced by the 
 miversities is a most patent fact. 
 
 Now look at the American universities and col- 
 ;es which number over 300, and of which only 
 eight have been built by the government. Har- 
 vard, Yale, Princeton, Amherst, Williams, Dart- 
 mouth, and Oberlin are noted, especially the first, 
 which is the most famous one; in it are now no 
 professors, and a library containing 134,000 vol- 
 umes and its endowment amounts to 14,854,372 
 dollars. In 1872 there were in the United States 
 298 colleges and universities, but during the seven 
 r ears to 1879, 66 were added. This great growth 
 higher education in the United States is a very 
 onderful thing in the world. 
 " In the year 1620, the Pilgrim Fathers landed in 
 'lymouth ; they came that they might enjoy f ree- 
 lom to worship God. They established a school 
 hich was founded upon Christian morality. Since 
 tat time, during 260 years, their descendants 
 .ve inherited the spirit and carried out the pur- 
 pose of the fathers ; they have believed that such 
 schools would diminish the number of evil doers, 
 
88 Broadening Plans; Tour Abroad. 
 
 and increase the number of those who do good ; 
 that they would encourage the spirit of liberty and 
 become the foundation of the state ; they have be- 
 lieved that in order to become a nation with the 
 best free government they must have universities 
 which are founded upon Christian morality, where 
 the sciences will be taught. We cannot doubt but 
 that their free institutions have been the result of 
 this spirit. 
 
 " As soon as our government saw the importance 
 of the university, it established one in Tokyo, and 
 it has also built several academies. From these 
 we shall see some intellectual development and 
 external advancement, but not mor al development 
 and internal improvement. 
 
 " Some are trying to improve the morality of the 
 people, but they demand that the old morality of 
 China shall be used with the people, and hence 
 Ave cannot rejoice at their efforts, for the Chinese 
 morality has not influence upon the mind of men 
 generally. All oriental states are almost destitute 
 of liberty and Christian morality : they cannot 
 therefore rapidly advance in civilisation. The 
 growth of liberty, the development of science, the 
 advancement of politics and the power of morality 
 have brought forth the European civilisation. 
 
Broadening Plans; Tour Abroad. 
 
 8 9 
 
 hese four important effects have come from the 
 itudy of the advancing sciences upon the founda- 
 :ion of Christian morality. 
 
 We cannot believe, then, that without morality 
 .nd science, civilisation can come in Japan. To put 
 the foundation of our state upon this foundation is 
 just like putting the foundation of a building upon 
 a rock. No sword can conquer it ; no tempest can 
 break it ; no waves can overcome it. If it is put 
 upon the old Chinese morality, it will be just like 
 putting it upon a sandy beach of the sea ; when 
 the rough waves beat against it, it falls into ruin. 
 We are therefore hoping for a university which is 
 founded upon pure morality and which teaches 
 modern advanced science. We have been very 
 earnest in this matter. In the eighth year of Meiji, 
 we established the Uoshisha school in Kyoto, and 
 its purpose was to teach European science and to 
 ;ive also moral education. Its students have 
 increased year by year. But our aim has ever 
 been to build a university. 
 
 " In April of the 16th year of Meiji, we publicly 
 
 expressed our purpose and received much encour- 
 
 igement ; at this time we met our friends in Kyoto, 
 
 .nd named it the Meiji University. We have 
 
 letermined to raise an endowment first for a 
 
90 Broadening Plans; Tour Abroad. 
 
 department of History, Philosophy, Politics and 
 Economics, and gradually to found one also of Law 
 and of Medicine. But it is not easy to establish 
 this, for we must, as a first step, get a large amount 
 of money with which we can erect some buildings 
 and call some professors. We, being so few in 
 number, cannot furnish this money, but we cannot 
 give up our purpose to establish this university 
 now. We must work for new Japan. All true 
 patriots should do this. Please help us, as far as 
 you are able, to accomplish our purpose and do 
 this work. Unless we receive your help, we can- 
 not succeed in this great purpose." 
 
 In the early part of 1884, & became evident 
 that the strain of the last nine years had so 
 exhausted Mr. Neesima, that he must have a 
 complete change. He had tried in vain to rest in 
 Japan ; he could not escape from the many calls 
 which pressed upon him everywhere ; he could not 
 forget the great work he had undertaken ; it was 
 always before his eyes and upon his heart. lie at 
 last yielded to the earnest solicitations of his friends, 
 and accepted Mr. Hardy's generous invitation to 
 go to the United States by way of Europe, and on 
 the 6th of April, 1884, he started from Kobe on 
 his long journey. He landed in Italy at Naples. 
 

 Broadening Plans; Tour Abroad. 91 
 
 His daily journals from the time of leaving 
 Japan, until he left Switzerland, are very full ; they 
 are little encyclopedias of information on every 
 subject ; it is wonderful to see how much informa- 
 tion he gathered, and especially, are they very full 
 on the educational side, lie visited all the schools 
 and colleges he could, and minutely inspected 
 their whole plan of teaching, studies and buildings, 
 and wrote out all the details. lie secured letters 
 of introduction to the men who were at the head 
 of the Catholic Colleges in Italy and inspected 
 them very carefully ; also the Waldensian Theolog- 
 ical school in Florence. He spent several weeks 
 in the Waldensian valley and carefully studied 
 the history, the persecutions, the school system 
 and the ways of working of that Church. From 
 there he went by the St. Gotthard route into 
 Switzerland ; his note books are full of his pencil 
 drawings to illustrate the architecture, and, es- 
 pecially, grape raising, cheese making, etc., etc. 
 
 On the 6th of Aug., he started with a German 
 traveller to go up the St. Gotthard pass. It 
 was a gentle climb of about 2000 feet. He says 
 in his note book, " One and a half miles this 
 side of the pass, I began to breathe hard, I could 
 not go ; I was left behind ; I stopped every ten 
 
92 Broadening Plans; Tour Abroad. 
 
 rods ; finally I reached the pass ; I ate dinner, but 
 after that I found myself worse and worse ; I 
 could not go any farther. I stayed at the hotel 
 Prosa until the next day ; that afternoon I found 
 myself very miserable. I thought it might pos- 
 sibly be the end of my life, in this world. While 
 I had a most distressed feeling in my chest, I 
 wrote my will, as follows ; First paper ; I am a 
 native of Japan, and am a missionary to my 
 native land. On account of my ill health I was 
 obliged to leave my country for health. I came 
 from Milan to Andermatt yesterday, and took a 
 room at the hotel Oberalp. I took a trip to the 
 St. Gotthard pass with a German gentleman this 
 morning ; as I found myself too unwell to go 
 on, he left me here and went on to Airolo. I 
 found myself hard of breathing, it must be some 
 trouble in my heart. My goods are left in the 
 hotel Oberalp with some money. If I die here, 
 please send a telegram to Pastor Jurino, 51 Via 
 Torino, Milan, and ask him to take charge of my 
 body. May the kind heavenly Father receive my 
 soul to his bosom. Aug. 6th, 1884. J. H. Neesima. 
 Whoever reads this writing, pray for Japan, my 
 dear native land." 
 
 ''Second paper; I would ask Pastor Jurino to 
 
Broadening Plans; Tour Abroad. 
 
 93 
 
 >ury me in Milan and send this writing to Hon. 
 .lpheus Hardy, 4 Joy St., Boston, Mass., U. S. A., 
 
 is he and his wife have been my benefactors 
 
 ;hese twenty years. May the Lord give them 
 ample rewards ! Send a telegram to him at once. 
 Please cut a little portion of my hair and send to 
 my dear wife in Kyoto, Japan, as a token of the 
 inseparable bond of union in Christ. My plan for 
 Japan will be defeated ; but thanks be to the Lord 
 that he has already done so much for us. I trust 
 he will yet do a wonderful work there. May the 
 Lord raise up many true Christians and noble 
 patriots for my dear fatherland ! Amen and amen. 
 14 At this moment all sorts of thoughts came up 
 themselves at once. I reviewed the past as well 
 as the future. My plan for our school ; my plan 
 for a medical school ; my hope to get something 
 [or these plans ; my filial feeling toward my aged 
 
 >arents ; my tender sympathy with my wife ; 
 disappointments of my intimate friends in Japan ; 
 my most grateful feeling towards Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hardy ; all these feelings and thoughts came up 
 within me and I struggled with them, but I can 
 safely state here that I overcame all these feelings, 
 
 iiid prayed to God to let his will be done in me; 
 asked for his forgiving grace through Christ Jesus. 
 
94 Broadening Plans; Ton?- Abroad. 
 
 I wrote these above two papers because I was 
 ready to go if it be his will. I had many plans 
 for Japan, but I knew that the Lord cares for 
 Japan more than I. I humbly committed my 
 country's future to his unerring hand. I felt 
 quite submitted myself to his will, but someway 
 tears dropped from my eyes and I could scarcely 
 refrain from it. After I prayed for my soul as 
 well as for the friends who might be left behind, 
 I took a tablespoonful of brandy to prevent my 
 chills, and put a mustard plaster on my chest to 
 prevent my distressed feeling." 
 
 He gradually rallied again, so that the next day 
 he was moved in a carriage back to Andermatt ; 
 when he was able, he went on to Lucerne, and 
 consulted a physician who told him that his heart 
 was affected and that he must avoid all violent ex- 
 ercise. He travelled leisurely down the Rhine, 
 through Holland and across to England and 
 reached the United States in the early autumn. 
 
 Below is a specimen note from his journal, " A 
 short visit to the pastor of Rosa, Italy, Rev. Flu- 
 gen. I was conducted by a man to his home from 
 the kitchen door. I observed that everything was 
 in an old fashioned style but quite comfortable, 
 neat and snug ; I was also led to the dining room 
 

 Broadening Plans; Ton?' Abroad. 95 
 
 
 which was a large one ; a board floor, everything 
 looks simple and unassuming. I saw pictures on 
 the walls ; the frames are simple. Some pictures 
 cut out from papers are pinned on the walls. His 
 wife seemed quite intelligent and happy ; she 
 dressed simple and neat. His two ch'ldren look- 
 ed bright and healthy. Evidently it must be a 
 happy home. He is loved by his people and they 
 are glad to meet and salute him on the street." 
 Mr. Neesima reached the United States in the 
 early autumn of that year and attended the meet- 
 ing of the Board at Columbus, Ohio, but he was 
 unable to speak, except a few words. He rested 
 on through that winter, passing some time at the 
 health retreat at Clifton Springs, New York. 
 He wrote from Boston in March, 1885, " Since 
 Feb. 3rd, I have been obliged to lay aside all my 
 reading and Avriting." This brief letter was writ- 
 ten with a trembling hand. He says, " I am still 
 troubled with a burning headache, and have been 
 obliged to keep myself quiet, so far as I can." "I 
 came through this winter without a serious attack 
 of rheumatism, and the only trouble I have now is a 
 burning, heavy headache, with occasional repeats of 
 pain in my forehead. I can't do much yet, but I 
 am not discouraged ; I am cheerful and hopeful." 
 
g6 Broadening Plans; Tonr Abroad. 
 
 In April and May he made a visit to Washing- 
 ton, stopping in Delaware and other places ; but 
 as his health improved a little his soul was wholly 
 absorbed in thoughts and plans for his beloved 
 land. He tried to work for the best interests of 
 the Christian paper in Tokyo ; he suggested a revi- 
 sion of the Theological course of study in the Do- 
 shisha, to make it more scholarly ; he writes from 
 Boston, March 25th, 1885, "The Board are think- 
 ing to send a graduate of Ann Arbor University 
 to teach Philosophy, etc., to make the Theological 
 department more attractive to our ambitious stu- 
 dents. I hope your mission will heartily respond 
 to this new movement on this side of the Pacific." 
 
 His heart was greatly moved also with thoughts 
 and plans for the enlargement of the direct evangel- 
 istic work in Japan. Pie says in the same letter, 
 " I am glad to learn that the work in the Annaka 
 region is so hopeful. They have recently built 
 two more houses of worship." " It may be desir- 
 able to occupy a few important centers in Kiushu 
 and in Northern Japan, but the most important 
 work to carry out Christ's kingdom is to raise men 
 after Gods own heart. If yon raise tip strong 
 and truly pious men to work for Christ, Japan 
 ivill be ours in his name. Let us unite ourselves 
 
Broadening Plane; Tour Abroad. 97 
 
 in this case and push it through* I will soon ask 
 a lady in Louisville, Kentucky, to send me sixty 
 dollars to help our needy students." 
 
 He was also working to secure a way by which 
 Prof. Shimomura could go to the United States to 
 study, and still further to find some plan by which 
 other men could have the foreign training they 
 needed to fit them to teach in the Doshisha. He 
 says in the same letter, May 26th," With regard to 
 founding special scholarship-chairs in our school, 
 it may be hard to raise fund enough here to secure 
 a few American professorships ; so I will work to 
 secure the fund irk Japan and raise up the native 
 professorships. In order to do that, a few best 
 students out of our graduates ought to be sent 
 here to pursue the special studies to fit themselves 
 for this new enterprise. I am strongly convinced 
 that we can't keep up our reputation in future, un- 
 less we provide a few professional studies besides 
 Theology, so I am hoping to secure a few scholar- 
 ships to help our students to attain the high edu- 
 cation in this country. We may meet many ob- 
 jections here and at home, but I feel we are rather 
 compelled to take this bold step. If we could get 
 a few scholarships here to educate and fit our stu- 
 dents to be professors, we could start a few new 
 
98 Broadening Plans; Tonr Abroad. 
 
 chairs, on Political Science, Philosophy, History, 
 etc., without a great expense to us. The govern- 
 ment is doing this in the Tokyo University, why 
 cannot we do the \ ame in our school ? I hope our 
 friends in Japan will raise money enough for us to 
 start this new enterprise. 
 
 " To sum up my view, let me briefly state as fol- 
 lows : 1. Give our students a thorough English 
 course. 2. Make the Theological course more at- 
 tractive to our ambitious students to enter in. 
 Let the foreign professors devote their time and 
 strength for instructing this important class. 3. 
 Provide for other professional studies to keep 
 those boys, who will not become preachers, within 
 the sacred walls of our school. 4. If I secure a 
 few scholarships, I should like to use them ex- 
 clusively for the best students, intellectually and 
 spiritually, among the Theological graduates. 
 This provision will certainly make the Theological 
 class honorable and attractive in our school. Un- 
 der this fourth heading, I should say still further ; 
 I called on President Porter another day and asked 
 him of his view on my new plan to secure a few 
 scholarships here. He favors this idea very much. 
 I have been working quite hard to secure some 
 favor for our students, very few in number, in the 
 
Broadening Plans; Tour Abroad. 99 
 
 Johns Hopkins University and also at Yale and 
 Amherst. I hope they will show some special 
 favor to our students if we send them our best 
 specimens. 
 
 " Before I close my letter, allow me to state to 
 you that in all these my attempts, I forget myself, 
 I still suffer in my head, I feel that I am moving 
 onward in our battle field just as you do, though I 
 am sent here to rest." At the close of this letter 
 he says, "I cannot write such a letter without shed- 
 ding many tears. My heart is constantly burning 
 like a volcanic fire for my dearly beloved Japan. 
 Pray for me that I may rest in the Lord. Yours 
 in the Lord, Joseph H. Neesima." 
 
 Before he left the United States, Mr. Neesima 
 wrote, " An Appeal for Advanced Chiistian Educa- 
 tion in Japan," which was circulated in the United 
 States, of which extracts are here given. 
 
 " Old Japan is defeated. New Japan has won its 
 victory. The old Asiatic system is silently passing 
 away, and the new European ideas so recently 
 transplanted there are growing vigorously and 
 luxuriantly. Within the past twenty years Japan 
 has undergone a vast change, and is now so ad- 
 vanced that it will be impossible for her to fall back 
 to her former position. She has shaken off her 
 
loo Broadening Plans; Tour Abroad, 
 
 old robe. She is ready to adopt something better. 
 The daily press so copiously scattered throughout 
 the Empire is constantly creating among readers 
 some fresh desire and appetite for the new change. 
 Her leading minds will no longer bear with the old 
 form of despotic feudalism, neither be contented 
 with the worn-out doctrines of Asiatic morals and 
 religions. They cried out for a constitution a few 
 years ago, and have already obtained a promise 
 from the Emperor to have it given them in the 
 year 1890. The pagan religions seem to their 
 inquiring mind mere relics of the old superstition. 
 M The compulsory education lately carried out 
 in the common schools, amounting in number 
 to almost thirty thousand, is proved to be a 
 mighty factor to quicken and elevate the intel- 
 ligence of the masses. The Imperial University 
 at Tokio is sending out men of high culture by the 
 hundred every year to take some responsible 
 positions either in the governmental service or 
 private capacities. Another university will soon 
 be founded by the government at Osaka, the second 
 important commercial city of the Empire, to ac- 
 commodate the youths so anxiously craving the 
 higher education. It will be out of the way for 
 me to dwell here upon the material progress Japan 
 
Broadening Plans; Tour Abroad. toi 
 
 has so recently made. But let it suffice to state 
 :hat the waters of her coasts are busily plowed by 
 Uer own steamers. Public roads are constantly 
 improved. Tunnels are being cut here and there, 
 and railways are being laid to connect important 
 commercial points. Telegraph wires are stretched 
 throughout the whole length and breadth of the 
 Empire. Surveying what she has accomplished 
 within so short a period, we cannot help thinking 
 that she is bound to adopt the form of European 
 civilisation, and will never cease until she be 
 crowned with success in accomplishing her national 
 aim. 
 
 " In order to bring about the recent change and 
 progress she has painfully sacrificed her precious 
 blood as well as her vast treasure. Indeed, her 
 victory has been dearly purchased. It was a 
 quick work, and was well done. It was a sudden 
 movement, but to our great wonder, very few mis- 
 takes have been made in her past course. She has 
 tried her best as far as her capacity would allow. 
 The most serious period of our political revolution 
 is nearly passed, and society as well as the govern- 
 ment will soon precipitate into some new shape. 
 But what shape? To the writer of this article our 
 immediate future seems a more serious problem 
 
102 Broadening Plans; Tonr Abroad. 
 
 than the past. The question is necessarily rising 
 among us, what will be our future? True! She 
 is destined to have a free constitutional govern- 
 ment. She is bound to have her people thoroughly 
 educated. It will be a grand achievement if a free 
 constitution and higher education be secured to 
 her people. But these two factors may be proved 
 to be the very elements apt to bring out freedom 
 of opinions, and hence the terrible battles of free 
 opinions. A fearful national chaos might be her 
 fate if nothing intervene to prevent it. If the na- 
 tion be allowed to take her own course as she does 
 now, hope for her regeneration might forever be 
 gone. But in the time of need, Providence, which 
 rules the nations with infinite wisdom, has stepped 
 in to save us from this national calamity and 
 despair. It was neither too soon nor too late when 
 the missionaries of the cross from America landed 
 on our shore to proclaim the soul-saving gospel to 
 the people. Through their earnest labor and 
 constant prayers the foundation of the Christian 
 church was soon laid. 
 
 " We believe Christianity is intended to benefit 
 mankind at large. Why should we not undertake 
 to extend our influence toward the higher sphere, 
 as well as toward the lower, that we might win all 
 
Broadening Plans; Tour Abroad, 103 
 
 men to Christ? Why should we seriously object 
 :o raise up Christian statesmen, Christian lawyers, 
 Christian editors, and Christian merchants, as well 
 as Christian preachers and teachers, within the 
 walls of our Christian institutions? It is our 
 humble purpose to save Japan through Christian- 
 ity. The souls and bodies of our Orientals ought 
 to be thoroughly purged, and consecrated to Christ 
 for establishing his glorious kingdom in the earth 
 as in heaven. If we do not raise up men after 
 God's own heart in the different spheres of our 
 society to leaven the whole lump, we fear the seed 
 of destruction will be soon sown by other agents 
 while we make this delay. Remember what our 
 Saviour said in Luke xvi : 8 : 'For the children of 
 this world are in their generation wiser than the 
 children of light.' 
 
 " There might be some undue fear that such a 
 provision of those higher studies would naturally 
 draw away ambitious students from the Theological 
 course. It may be, but we trust we shall receive 
 a larger supply of students in the Academical 
 course, so that some could be spared for other 
 studies without much loss to the Theological de- 
 partment. On the contrary, we may possibly 
 attract some students to it from the other courses. 
 
104 Broadening Plans; Tour Abroad. 
 
 Some evil may arise in such an undertaking-, but 
 it may be overbalanced by the good accomplished 
 by it. Now allow us to state a few reasons for this 
 undertaking: 
 
 i. Such a provision will detain the youths for 
 further studies in the school after finishing the 
 Academical course. It will help them to develop 
 and strengthen their Christian character. 
 
 2. Such a provision will accommodate some 
 thoughtful parents, who may naturally desire to 
 send their boys to a school where their moral 
 character is carefully fostered and will be likely to 
 be developed so strong as to be a safeguard against 
 youthful vices and corruption. 
 
 3. The youths who have thus received a broad 
 culture will certainly have a grand opportunity to 
 influence society for good. Words and deeds 
 of well-educated, earnest Christians in different 
 spheres of society will help the cause very much 
 either directly or indirectly. Sometimes indirect 
 efforts produce more speedy results than direct. 
 
 4. This provision will surely benefit and tone 
 up the Theological course, instead of causing - any 
 serious harm to it. 
 
 5. We desire to lay down a broad basis for Christ- 
 ian education by encouraging post-graduate studies. 
 

 Broadening' Plans; Tour Abroad, 105 
 
 " The time is just ripening for us to take this step 
 so as to attract thereto the best and most talented 
 youths in the country and foster and fit them for 
 the highest good and noblest purpose. We are 
 thus compelled to attempt this broad sweep to 
 reach and win thirty-seven million precious souls 
 to Christ. Seeds of truth must be sown now. 
 Undue delay will give a grand chance to unbelieving 
 hands to make thorough mischief and render that 
 beautiful island empire hopelessly barren and 
 fruitless. O Japan, thou the fairest of Asia! If 
 I forget thee, let my right hand forget her cunning 
 and let my tongue cleave to the roof of my 
 mouth. ' 
 
 " As I mentioned above, a movement was started 
 at Kyoto last year to raise some money to found 
 chairs for those special studies. But our friends 
 are very few yet. The people are now pressed hard 
 on account of the business stagnation, and a most 
 destructive flood lately visited the country. So 
 we cannot expect to receive from them any large 
 donation. When we met a number of the eminent 
 citizens of Kyoto last year for this specific purpose, 
 we urged them to give us a fund before the year 
 1890 so that when the Emperor gives us a con- 
 stitution in the same year, we might found a 
 
106 Broadening Plans; Tour Abroad, 
 
 University to commemorate the most extraordinary 
 period of our political history. This appeal created 
 among them a great enthusiasm. Some of them 
 gave us their hearty pledge to do their share. So 
 we may possibly realize some gift just sufficient to 
 support a few native professors. But it is beyond 
 our expectation to receive a fund large enough to 
 sustain even a few American professors. So if a 
 few professorships should be given by some Amer- 
 ican friends to found chairs of Political Science, 
 History, Literature, Philosophy, etc., it will help 
 the Gause grandly. Some people in this country 
 may hardly realize how dangerously our shores are 
 visited and washed by the strong tide of modern 
 European unbelief. But to a native of the country, 
 who has been seriously watching and observing the 
 course recently taken by the people, the present 
 time seems grave. The future battle in Japan 
 may not be with any foreign invaders. But it will 
 certainly be between Christianity and unbelief. 
 
 Shall we remain at peace and unequipped because 
 God would fight for us for his kingdom's sake ? 
 We fear he will not help us unless we do our part. 
 It is the time for us to make an extraordinary 
 effort to push evangelical work as well as Christian 
 education in Japan in order to save her from cor- 
 

 Broadening Plans; Tonr Abroad. 107 
 
 ruption and unbelief. The American Board has 
 done for us in the educational line as much as it 
 can wisely do. Yet there remains much to be 
 done in order to carry out our work more efficient- 
 ly. The Lord's army must not be hampered there 
 while the battle is fairly commencing. Strong 
 means must be provided there in order to furnish 
 to the field strong men from time to time. 
 
 " Now who will step forth in this grand republic 
 of America to render us timely help to save us from 
 this impending national calamity? Here maybe 
 some friends seriously considering how their pro- 
 perty might be best disposed of for benefiting 
 poor humanity. With such we would earnestly 
 plead and loudly cry, 'Remember us.' Would 
 that God might touch the hearts of some 
 individuals to give us a portion of their blessings, 
 and establish chairs for advanced Christian educa- 
 tion there as a perpetual monument of peace 
 between the Urited State; of America and 
 Japan, through which the millions of our people 
 and their posterity might be blessed." 
 
 In the autumn of 1885, Mr. Neesima returned 
 to Japan, somewhat improved in health, but still 
 suffering from weakness and headache. He at once 
 began to work quietly here for the establishment 
 
10S Broadening Plans; Tour Abroad. 
 
 of the University. He made many earnest friends 
 for the enterprise, and many sums of money were 
 promised toward its endowment. This quiet work 
 and the issue and circulation of small circulars in 
 regard to the University, continued during two 
 or three years, but it was not until 1888 that a 
 public and determined effort was made for the en- 
 dowment of the Universily. About six hundred 
 and fifty of the officials, scholars and leading busi- 
 ness men of Kyoto, assembled in one of the large 
 temples in Kyoto, and were addressed by Mr. 
 Neesima and others, and much interest was arous- 
 ed in behalf of the Doshisha University. 
 
 In the summer of that year Mr. Neesima went 
 to Tokyo and worked in the interest of the Uni- 
 versity. So great was his weakness, however, that 
 one evening as he met a few friends to present his 
 plan of the University, he fainted quite away. In 
 July of that year, however, Count Inouye, late 
 Minister of Foreign Affairs, gave a dinner one 
 evening to men of rank and wealth, inviting Mr. 
 Neesima to be present, and after dinner he intro- 
 duced the subject and asked Mr. Neesima to speak 
 of the University, and the result was, that Count 
 Inouye subscribed one thousand yen, Count O- 
 kuma, one thousand yen, Viscount Aoki, then 
 
Broadening Plans; Tour Abroad. 109 
 
 Vice-minister of state, five hundred yen, a pro- 
 minent banker six thousand yen and others 
 enough to bring the amount up to 31,000 yen. 
 This gave great enthusiasm to the movement. 
 
 How was this result secured ? Mr. Neesima's 
 connection with the Iwakura embassy in 1872, in 
 America and Europe, called the attention of the 
 leading men of the empire to him ; then the con- 
 tinued opposition to the school during the first 
 few years of its existence compelled attention ; the 
 eyes of the empire were upon the school to see 
 what its aim and outcome were ; so, when the 
 school sent out such a class as that which gradu- 
 ated from the Theological department in i879,*the 
 fifteen men who came up from Capt. Janes' school, 
 and the government saw them take such positions 
 and do such work as Mr. Kosaki has done in Tokyo ; 
 Mr. Yebina in Joshu; Mr. Miyagawa in Osaka; Mr. 
 Kanamori in Okayama ; Mr. Ise in Imabari and 
 as Mr. Ichihara and Mr. Morita did as teachers in 
 the Doshisha, and saw others taking positions as 
 teachers, or as a clerk in a department of state, or 
 as an attache of a foreign legation : when they 
 saw another class of thirteen go out from the 
 Theological department and take positions as 
 earnest pastors and teachers, when they saw the 
 
no Broadening Plans; Tour Abroad. 
 
 graduates of the Collegiate course nearly all stable,, 
 moral men, taking positions as teachers in schools, 
 or entering their own University in Tokyo, and 
 helping to give moral tone and character to that, 
 they were impressed with the importance of the 
 Doshisha for the Empire of Japan. 
 
 When the tenth anniversary of the founding of 
 the school was celebrated in 1885, the Governor of 
 the Kyoto Fu, the Governor of the Shiga Ken and 
 many other officials were present, and were greatly 
 interested. Count Inouye had also visited the 
 school and addressed the teachers and scholars, 
 assembled in the chapel. It was not from any 
 blind impulse that this money was given ; the 
 school had proved its right to be, and that it was 
 a needed power in Japan. 
 
 In the last English letter which Mr. Neesima 
 wrote, only a few days before his death, from which 
 a long quotation has already been made, he says, 
 "Since 1884, I began to hope for founding a 
 Christian university ; the matter seemed to myself 
 and also to my friends here that I am hoping for 
 something altogether beyond hope ; however, I 
 had a strong conviction that God will help us to 
 found it in his own name's sake. In order to en- 
 gage in such an undertaking, one shall need a 
 

Broadening Plans; Tonr Abroad. ill 
 
 strong pliysique ; alas, my health has been poor 
 for some years. When I made a speech before * / /, 
 six hundred and fifty select audience at Kyoto, in 
 a large Buddhist temple, in behalf of the new Uni- 
 versity, I had* hardly strength enough to do it ; 
 then I came to Tokyo to beg for the fund ; I did 
 faint away when I did see a few choice friends at 
 the study of a certain gentleman. The chief 
 trouble was in my heart, a heart disease. I was 
 obliged to confine myself for sometime. As soon 
 as I became comfortable enough, I attempted to 
 move around again. In a single evening thirty 
 one thousand yen were subscribed to us, a most 
 memorable evening to us ; it took place in the 
 latter part of July, 1888. Since then subscriptions 
 came from the different parts of the country. At 
 present we have raised over 60,000 yen. We are 
 now attempting to raise it up to 100,000 yen be- 
 fore this coming summer. Since October, I have 
 been away from home, moving round here and 
 there, though I made Tokyo the headquarters of 
 my present movement. 
 
 In the latter part of November I became seri- 
 ously ill; I have not yet fully recovered my 
 strength, and am now obliged to rest at a quiet 
 country town to regain certain strength to attempt 
 
U2 Broadening Plans; Tour Abroad. 
 
 beggings further. My humble idea of founding a 
 university is to educate the coming race in higher 
 studies, being influenced by Christian light and 
 Christian conscience. We would put our best 
 strength to Theology, then to Philosophy, Litera- 
 ture, Science, Law, Political Economy, etc. We 
 have had chairs for Theology for some time. 
 Lately, we have secured 100,000 dollars for Sci- 
 ence ; we are further waiting for funds to come to 
 found some studies, one by one. It is a faith 
 work. When you find spare money either in your- 
 self, or in your friends, please remember us. I have 
 a full hope that my vague day-dream for a Chris- 
 tian university will sooner or later be realised, and 
 that in some future, we shall find a grand occasion 
 to give thanks to Him who has led us and blessed 
 US beyond our expectation. Please remember me 
 to your sabbath school friends and ask them to 
 pray for our country." 
 
 In this connection, we should speak of an appeal 
 for the University which Mr. Neesima prepared 
 in the autumn of 1888 and which was published 
 simultaneously on the 10th of November of that 
 year in twenty of the leading papers of Japan. 
 This plea for a university is worth reproduction 
 here; being, as it were, his last message to Japan. 
 

Broadening Plans; Tour Abroad. 113 
 
 " About twenty years ago, at a time when our 
 country was greatly excited over the question of 
 intercourse with foreign nations, having the desire 
 of studying in Western countries, I went to Hako- 
 date, and from thence, in violation of the law 
 which forbade Japanese to leave their country, I 
 succeeded in getting passage on a merchant-ship, 
 and arrived in Boston after a year of hard life as a 
 sailor. In Boston, happily for my purposes, I was 
 welcomed and aided by a well-known American 
 gentleman, by whose kindness I was enabled to 
 study in Amherst College and Andover Seminary. 
 During the more than ten years of my student life 
 in America, observing the conditions of Western 
 civilisation and having opportunity to meet and 
 converse with many leading men, I became gradu- 
 ally convinced that the civilisation of the United 
 States has sprung by gradual and constant develop- 
 ment from one great source, namely, education, 
 and also 1 was led to reflect upon the intimate re- 
 lation between education and national develop- 
 ment. Hence it came to pass that I resolved to 
 take education for my lifework and to devote my- 
 self to this undertaking. 
 
 " In the fourth year of Meiji (1871), while I was 
 studying at Andover, Mr. Tanaka, minister of edu- 
 

 114 Broadening Plans; Tour Abroad. 
 
 cation, came with the late Mr, Iwakura, ambassa- 
 dor, to observe the condition of education in 
 Western countries, and I received an official invi- 
 tation to accompany them for this purpose. After 
 visiting the famous academies and universities, of 
 the United States and Canada, we traveled in Ger- 
 many, France, England, Scotland, Switzerland, 
 Holland, Denmark, and Russia, and I had oppor- 
 tunity to carefully examine the state of education 
 and the condition of the schools in these countries. 
 The result was that I became more and more con- 
 vinced that education is the foundation of Western 
 civilisation, and that in order to make our Japan a 
 nation worthy to be counted among the enlightened 
 countries of the world we must introduce not only 
 the externals of modern civilisation, but its essen- 
 tial spirit. Accordingly I was the more strength- 
 ened in my resolution to establish a university after 
 my return to my home and thus to discharge my 
 duty to my native land. 
 
 " In the seventh of Meiji (1874), I was about to 
 return to Japan, and was present at the annual 
 meeting of the American Board and made a short 
 address at the request of many friends : I said 
 that my country was in a disorganized condition, 
 that the people were wandering in search of a 
 
Broadening Plans; Tour Abroad. 115 
 
 light which might guide them into the right way, 
 and that true education was the only means by 
 which the people could make progress both in 
 knowledge and morality. In speaking of this I 
 was so much moved that I could not refrain from 
 shedding tears. Taking one step more in my 
 speech, I said that on returning to my native land 
 I should surely devote my life to educational 
 work, and begged my hearers to help me, if they 
 approved my purpose. No sooner had I. thus 
 spoken than a number of ladies and gentlemen in 
 the audience signified their approval of my request 
 by contributing several thousand dollars on the 
 spot. 
 
 " Thus the Doshisha was established ; and its pur- 
 pose was, not merely to give instruction in English 
 and other branches of learning, but to impart high- 
 er moral and spiritual principles, and to train up 
 not only men of science and learning, but men of 
 conscientiousness and sincerity. This we believe 
 can never be attained by one-sided intellectual edu- 
 cation, nor by Confucianism, which has lost its 
 power to control and regulate the mind, but only 
 by a thorough education founded on the Christian 
 principles of faith in God, love of truth, and benev- 
 olence to one's fellowmen. That our work is 
 
Ii6 Broadening Plans; Tour Abroad. 
 
 founded upon these principles is the point in 
 which we have differed from the prevailing views 
 on education, and owing to this we failed to gain 
 the sympathy of the public for a number of years. 
 At that time our condition was very weak, with 
 almost no friends in the whole country, with our 
 principles of education not only despised by the 
 ignorant, but treated with contempt even by men 
 of enlightenment. Nevertheless, being convinced 
 of the ultimate victory of truth, helping and 
 strengthening each other, we proceeded on our 
 way with a single eye to the end and with strong 
 determination amid the greatest difficulties. 
 
 " Fortunately general opinion has now changed 
 respecting religion, so that even those who do not 
 themselves believe in Christianity are ready to ac- 
 knowledge that it contains a living power for the 
 regeneration of men. Thus society has been pre- 
 pared to welcome us. At the same time our Do- 
 shisha has come to be appreciated and respected, 
 and people have begun to recognize that we are 
 giving our students a sound and well-balanced edu- 
 cation both intellectually and morally, so that our 
 school is one to which parents may send their 
 children without hesitation. Meeting with such 
 favorable reception, our school has steadily ad- 
 
 
Broadening Plans; Tour Abroad. \\j 
 
 vanced both in number of students and in grade 
 of its curriculum, and ever our friends have urged 
 us to furnish higher and higher courses of study. 
 
 " Especially in the fourteenth and fifteenth years 
 of Meiji (1881 and 1882) such requests began to 
 come in upon us, and we felt that we must pro- 
 ceed to lay the foundations of the future University. 
 Yet the establishment of a university is one of the 
 greatest works that can be undertaken in this coun- 
 try, one in which we need many helpers and much 
 money ; and what was our condition at that time ? 
 Having a few friends and helpers, we were not so 
 entirely neglected as at first, but still we were in an 
 isolated condition. What then could we do ? Yet 
 never for a moment did we falter in working; for our 
 purpose. We sought those who might favor our 
 plans and help us, and, finding several who gave us 
 assurances of aid, we held several meetings, to which 
 we invited the members of the Kyoto Fu Assem- 
 bly and asked their cooperation. Receiving the 
 approval of the leading members of the Assembly, 
 we published a tract, " On the Establishment of a 
 Private University," and set forth in it the pur- 
 poses of the proposed institution. This may be 
 called the first step in the undertaking of the 
 work. Nevertheless, although many gentlemen 
 
1 18 Broadening Plans; Tonr Abroad. 
 
 gave assurances of help, as it was a time of busi- 
 ness depression, nothing was accomplished towards 
 raising money, and our plans seemed to come to a 
 stop for a while. Also 1 was obliged to go to 
 America for a time and to leave the work in the 
 hands of friends during my absence, so that the 
 whole amount raised until April of the present 
 year (1888) was only about 10,000 yen. 
 - " During the present year we have especially de- 
 voted ourselves to this Avork, and good results 
 have been accomplished. In April we called to- 
 gether over six hundred of the prominent people 
 of Kyoto and explained our plans to them, at 
 which time Mr. Kitagaki, the governor of the 
 Kyoto prefecture, not only approved our purpose, 
 but himself made an address urging the people to 
 help in the work. Since then several meetings 
 have been held and a committee is collecting 
 money, and we have reason to hope that our con- 
 fidence in the generosity and public spirit of the 
 people of Kyoto will not be disappointed. 
 
 " And I have worked in Tokyo as well as in Kyo- 
 to. Counts Okuma and Inouye and Viscount Ao- 
 ki and others, to whom I have explained my plans, 
 have expressed their approval of them, and espe- 
 cially Counts Okuma and Inouye, after visiting the 
 
Broadening Plans; Tour Abroad* 
 
 iig 
 
 school and personally inspecting its working, have 
 given it their warm recommendation and encour- 
 aged us in our purpose of establishing higher 
 courses of study. Besides these, other gentlemen 
 and business men of Tokyo and Yokohama, after 
 hearing my plans, have given the following sums 
 since April of the present year: 
 
 Count Okuma . 
 
 . . . yen 1,000 
 
 Count Inouye 
 
 . . 1,000 
 
 Viscount Aoki . . 
 
 . . 500 
 
 Mr. R. Hara . . . 
 
 . . 6,ooo 
 
 Mr. K. Iwasaki . . 
 
 . . 3,000 
 
 Mr. K. Okura . . 
 
 . . 2,000 
 
 Mr. 11. Tanaka , . 
 
 . . 2,000 
 
 Mr. Y. Shibusawa . 
 
 . ,, 6,000 
 
 Mr. Y. Iwasaki . . 
 
 . 5>ooo 
 
 Mr. H. Hi ran uma . 
 
 . . 2,500 
 
 Mr. K. Masuda . . 
 
 . . 2,000 
 
 Counts Ito and Katsu and Viscount Enomoto 
 have also signified their approval of our work and 
 have promised to aid us. In addition, some 
 friends of mine in America have promised 50,000 
 towards the endowment of the present school, and 
 another friend has recently promised $15,000 for 
 a Science Hall. 
 
 " In view of this, since our work has now pro- 
 
120 Broadening Plans; Tour Abroad. 
 
 gressed for twenty years or more, and has gained 
 so much approval in many quarters, and since we 
 are now beginning to meet with so much success, 
 I think we must now be diligent to seek out many 
 helpers; for the institution of a university is a 
 great undertaking, and needs much money and 
 help of all kinds. Such an opportunity as we now 
 have, if once lost, may never be found again, and 
 therefore we must not waste a moment. Also 
 when we consider the present state of the Doshi- 
 sha we feel sure that our purpose is not in vain. 
 We have increased the number of trustees of the 
 Doshisha Company, perfected its constitution, and 
 thus established the government of this education- 
 al work upon a firm basis. At present we have 
 a Preparatory course, an English Collegiate course, 
 a Theological course, a Girls' School, and a Hos- 
 pital and Nurses' School. The following table 
 gives a few statistics in regard to each : 
 
 Kegular Assistant Pupils Gradu- 
 teachers. teachers, at present, ates. 
 
 Preparatory department, i r3 203 108 
 
 Collegiate department, ) " (426 So 
 
 Theological department,) / ( 8r 57 
 
 Girls' school, 13 2 176 21 
 
 Nurses' school, 3 2 13 4 
 
 34 23 899 
 

Broadening Plans; Tour Abroad. 121 
 
 " The school has thus attained so advanced a po- 
 sition that we expect to make the course of study 
 in the collegiate department equal to that of the 
 government's Koto Chin Gakko (colleges) within 
 the present year. We feel, therefore, that it is 
 necessary to add the university course to the pre- 
 sent school ; that the time has come for the es- 
 tablishment of the university. Since the univer- 
 sity is the place for thorough training in special 
 studies, those who graduate from our Collegiate 
 department should have university courses open 
 to them to carry on their studies in such special 
 departments as they wish. To leave the Collegi- 
 ate department without the higher courses of the 
 university is like building an arch and leaving out 
 the keystone. Thus we are sure that the es- 
 tablishment of the University cannot be post- 
 poned. . . . , 
 
 " What is the true end of education ? We under- 
 stand it to be the full and symmetrical develop- 
 ment of all our faculties, not a one-sided culture. 
 However much students may advance in the arts 
 and sciences, if they are not stable and persever- 
 ing in character, can we trust them with the future 
 of our country? If, in consequence of principles 
 of education which shoot wide of the mark, our 
 
122 Broadening Plans; Tour Abroad. 
 
 young men are molded and trained in a one-sided 
 and distorted manner, no one can deny that such 
 principles are extremely injurious to the country. 
 Such students, in their search for Western civilisa- 
 tion, choose only the external and material ele- 
 ments of civilisation literature, law, political in- 
 stitutions, food, and clothing, etc. and seem not 
 to comprehend the source of civilisation. Conse- 
 quently, blindly groping for light and wandering 
 in darkness, they are misled by selfish and errone- 
 ous principles in the use of their acquired knowl- 
 edge. And though there come some who wish 
 to reform these evil tendencies in education, they 
 only make the evil worse by resorting to measures 
 of oppression and restriction instead of training 
 up noble and high-principled students whose minds 
 are free and broad as well as disciplined, and who 
 govern th.mselves and follow the right way w it h 
 self-determining conviction. We would hold our 
 peace were it not that these thoughts make us anx- 
 ious for our country and people. 
 
 " We think that Western civilisation, though 
 many and various in its phenomena, is in general 
 Christian civilisation. The spirit of Christianity 
 penetrates all things even to the bottom, so that, 
 if we adopt only the material elements of civilisa- 
 
Broadening Plans; Tour Abroad. 123 
 
 tion and leave out religion, it is like building up 
 a Human body of flesh only without blood. Our 
 young men who are studying the literature and 
 science of the West are not becoming fitted to be 
 the men of New Japan, but are, we regret to say, 
 wandering out of the true w r ay in consequence of 
 their mistaken principles of education. Alas! 
 what a sad prospect this offers for the future of 
 our country ! We sincerely confess that we are of 
 ourselves unworthy to undertake so great a work, 
 but, with God's blessing and the help of our patri- 
 otic fellow-citizens, we w T ill forget our own weak- 
 ness and even venture upon this great task. 
 
 ." To express our hopes in brief, we seek to send 
 out into the world not only men versed in litera- 
 ture and science, but young men of strong and 
 uoble character, by which they can use their 
 learning for the good of their fellowmen. This, 
 we are convinced, can never be accomplished by 
 abstract, speculative teaching, nor by strict and 
 complicated rules, but only by Christian princi- 
 ples, the living and powerful principles of Christ- 
 ianity, and therefore we adopt these principles 
 as the unchangeable foundation of our educa- 
 tional work, and devote our energies to their reali- 
 zation .... 
 
124 Broadening Plans; Tour Abroad. 
 
 " This being my purpose, when 1 consider my 
 own strength I find it far short of accomplishing 
 so great a work, but I cannot be silent ; the needs 
 of our country and the urgency of my friends for- 
 bid me to decline this task. Thus being stimu- 
 lated and urged on by the condition of the times, 
 forgetting myself, I devote myself to this work, 
 and I pray that with God's grace and the help of 
 my fellow-citizens this University may be success- 
 fully established." 
 
 Early in August, 1888, after the money mention- 
 ed above had been secured for the University, Mr. 
 Neesima became so weak that some physicians in 
 Tokyo told him he had only a short time to live ; 
 one other physician told him that if he took com- 
 plete rest for two years, he might possibly live on 
 several years. He went to Ikao, a health resort 
 in Joshu, on a mountain side, rented a small cot- 
 tage and spent nearly two months there. He 
 was so weak when he went up there that he 
 was unable to ride in a jinrikisha and was carried 
 up in a kago or bamboo chair. When the writer 
 visited him in that place in September, he had just 
 become able to walk out a few rods. H is stay there 
 helped him to a little strength, and in October 
 he returned home, but soon went to Kobe, where 
 
Broadening Plans; Ton?- Abroad. 125 
 
 he could have more complete rest ; he spent most 
 of the winter in Kobe, in great weakness. 
 
 Early in the year 1887, a plan of union between 
 the Congregational and the Presbyterian churches 
 in Japan was proposed. Mr. Neesima was con- 
 sulted but very little in regard to this plan before- 
 hand, probably on account of his ill health, but 
 when a copy of the proposed basis of union came 
 into his hands, he was greatly troubled. When 
 he came to talk with me about it, he was more 
 excited than I had ever seen him before, and more 
 troubled than I had seen him for many years. 
 
 Mr. Neesima had become greatly impressed dur- 
 ing his residence in America with the value of free- 
 dom ; he felt that Japan needed freedom, and that it 
 could come most safely only gradually and among 
 those institutions which, like the Christian churches, 
 were under the influence of men of strong moral 
 convictions. He wanted to retain the leavening 
 influence of the Congregational system. Differing 
 with the experienced pastors, his former pupils, 
 who had assisted in preparing the basis of union, 
 he felt that the plan proposed by the committee 
 sacrificed that principle of freedom too much, and 
 hence he said that he must oppose it ; he feared 
 the effect of his opposition upon the Doshisha, 
 
126 Broadening Plans; Tonr Abroad, 
 
 but he said he could not yield this principle, eveii 
 at the risk of severing his connection with the 
 Doshisha and with the Kumi-ai churches. He 
 even suggested that if the union was perfected on 
 the basis first proposed, that he might leave this 
 part of the country and go to the Hokkaido 
 and work alone. I encouraged him to patiently 
 wait and see if the proposed basis could not be 
 modified. \ . 
 
 In the following months, although some of his 
 best friends told him he would ruin his hopes for a 
 university by his course, and caused him great 
 anguish of heart, he maintained his position, that 
 unless the proposed basis was materially modified, 
 he could not favor it. This was a very great strain 
 upon him during many months, and a strain which 
 he could ill afford to bear, in his weakness. 
 
 With the spring of 1889, Mr. Neesima seemed 
 to regain his strength in some measure ; he spent 
 sometime during the summer at a seaside resort', 
 quietly resting, and he was there when the news 
 came to him that his Alma Mater, Amherst Col- 
 lege, had conferred upon him the degree of L. L. D, 
 He wrote at this time a very characteristic letter 
 to a member of our Mission. He said that he was 
 greatly troubled because they had conferred upon 
 
C3 
 
 co 
 
 
 .0 
 
Broadening Plans; Tour Abroad. \2J 
 
 him this degree. He had always refused any 
 position which had been offered him in his own 
 country, and he felt he was not worthy of this title, 
 and he ends by asking, " What shall I do with 
 it ? " He was the first one among his people to 
 receive such a title, and he was worthy to receive 
 it. 
 
 The Doshisha had been growing all these years ; 
 the Girls' School had increased its buildings and 
 more than doubled its numbers ; the Training 
 School for Nurses had been established ; a Prepa- 
 ratory department had been added to the school 
 for young men ; the first two dormitories had in- 
 creased to thirteen; a large recitation hall, a 
 chapel to seat six hundred, and a large library 
 building had been erected, the three latter all of 
 brick. A gentleman in New England, Mr. Harris, 
 had gradually become interested in the work 
 which the Doshisha is doing, and had written that 
 he was glad to take into consideration a plan to 
 do something for the school, and this resulted, 
 first in his giving fifteen thousand dollars for a 
 Science hall, and during 1889 his interest devel- 
 oped into his making his gift 100,000 dollars to 
 endow the Science department of the Doshisha. 
 Mr. Neesima saw the foundations cf this new hall 
 
128 Broadening Plans; Tour Abroad* 
 
 laid before he went to Tokyo, in October, 1889. 
 The students had also increased so that durine 
 the school year of 1888-9 there were in all depart- 
 ments of the Doshisha, over nine hundred young 
 men and women. 
 

 VI. 
 
 last days of work, sickness, 
 death: and burial. 
 
"For I am already being offered, and the time of my departure is 
 come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have 
 kept the faith : henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of 
 righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at 
 tliat day : and not only to me but also to all them that have loved 
 his appearing." 2-Tim. IV. 4-6. 
 
 " So live that when thy summons comes to join 
 
 " The innumerable caravan that moves 
 
 u To that mysterious realm, where each shall take 
 
 " His chamber in the silent halls of death, 
 
 " T}wu go, not like the quarry slave at night, 
 
 " Scourged to his dungeon ; but sustained and soothed 
 
 " By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave 
 
 11 Like one iclio wraps the drapery of his couch 
 
 u About him, and lies doivn to pleasant dreams." Bryant. 
 
 " Having won by toil and pain, 
 
 " Who shalt regret the pangs of life ? 
 
 ' Who would regret the past's long night. 
 
 t; With all its fear and chill and blight, 
 
 " If now the East, through twilight gray, 
 
 " Were streaked with everlasting day ? " 
 
 " The things o'er ivhich ice grieved, with lashes wet, 
 
 " Will flash before us out of life's dark night, 
 
 " As stars shine most in deeper tints of blue." 
 
 " So let the eyes that fail on earth 
 
 " On thy eternal hills look forth ; 
 
 " And in thy beckoning angels know 
 
 " The dear ones tohom we loved below" Whittier* 
 
 " He does icell 7vho does his best ; 
 
 " Is he weary ? Let him rest I 
 
 u Brothers I I have done my best, 
 
 " I am weary let me rest." 
 
 " Say not good night, 
 
 "But in some brighter clime, 
 
 " Bid me good morning." 
 

 CHAPTER SIXTH 
 
 The autumn of 1889 found Dr. Neesima far 
 from well, but yet able to be doing some work. 
 He expressed a great desire to go to Tokyo and 
 work for the University. His physician told him 
 that he felt it would be better for his health not 
 to go at all, but if he was not absent more than 
 three weeks, it might not do him any harm. He 
 went to Tokyo in October, and saw a great many 
 friends in that vicinity, talking of the University 
 endowment, and receiving many promises of aid. 
 He also visited Joshu, and while there, he caught 
 a severe cold which confined him to his bed for a 
 week, and left him so weak that he finally deter- 
 mined to go to Oiso, a quiet place on the sea shore 
 near Yokohama, and rest. He went there in De- 
 cember, and took a room in a common Japanese 
 hotel. He was accompanied only by his clerk. 
 Mrs. Neesima had intended to go and spend some- 
 time with him there, but his mother was taken 
 sick in Kyoto, and as she was eighty four years 
 
132 Last Days of Work, Sickness, 
 
 old, it seemed unwise to leave her. 
 
 The new year came, and Dr. Neesima sent out 
 many New Year's letters to his friends, and espe- 
 cially to the leading pastors and workers ; in one of 
 these he said that the greastest need of the church 
 in Japan for the new year, was a new baptism, so 
 that we might be prepared to take Japan for 
 Christ. He sent an acting pastor in Niigata a 
 letter nearly three yards long, urging upon him 
 the importance of planting workers in the impor- 
 tant centers of that province; he sent another simi- 
 lar long letter to a man in the extreme west end 
 of the empire urging the planting of the Gospel in 
 that region. 
 
 Professors Kanamori and Shimomura spent the 
 night of Jan. ioth with him, and they talked over 
 various plans for the University, the School of Sci- 
 ence, etc., and Mr. Neesima seemed as well as 
 usual. 
 
 In his last English letter, written Jan. 5th, 1890, 
 he says, * In the latter part of October, I became 
 seriously ill; I have not yet fully recovered my 
 strength, and am now obliged to rest at a quiet 
 country town to regain certain strength to attempt 
 beggings further." 
 
 Jan. 1 ith, he began to feel poorly, and he grew 
 
Death and Burial. 133 
 
 worse from day to day, so that on the 17th, one of 
 the best Japanese physicians in Tokyo was sum- 
 moned to see him ; he pronounced his disease 
 peritonitis, and said that he was a very sick man ; 
 his clerk, who was with him, wanted to telegraph 
 immediately for Mrs. Neesima, but Dr. Neesima 
 said, " No, wait a little." On the morning of 
 the 19th, Mrs. Neesima was sent for by telegraph, 
 and she arrived the 20th, in the evening. Mr. Ko- 
 saki, Mr. Tokudomi and other friends had already 
 reached his side from Tokyo. 
 
 The first word which came to Doshisha was 
 given to the school on Tuesday morning, January 
 20th, and Mr. Kanamori, the Acting Principal of 
 the School, started that day for Oiso. The word 
 given to the school was " Kitoku," " very danger- 
 ously sick." Little circles of men were praying 
 for the life of him they loved all that day in the 
 school, and in the evening a general prayer meet- 
 ing was held in the chapel to pray for him ; the 
 telegrams came, in the same words, "Kitoku." 
 That prayer meeting was the most touching 
 meeting I ever attended. Such tearful pleading 
 with God I never heard before ; some of the pray- 
 ers were almost demands, but most of them con- 
 tained the, " If it be thy will." 
 
134 Last Days of Work, Sickness, 
 
 The next day no better news came, and the 
 praying went on and others of the teachers and 
 students started for Oiso ; Thursday morning 
 came the telegram, " No hope," then a little later, 
 " A little hope now/' and at a quarter to five P. M. 
 just as the teachers were assembling for their 
 Faculty meeting, the word was passed around of 
 his death. No business was done but to appoint 
 a committee to arrange in regard to the funeral, 
 and recitations were suspended until after the 
 funeral. 
 
 Dr. Berry reached his side three hours before 
 the end came. He was conscious to the last and 
 was able to talk some, up to within a few hours of 
 his death. While he was yet able to converse 
 pretty freely, he had dictated his last words to his 
 friends, in regard to the school and to the Mission- 
 ary Society. As he came to the last words about 
 Mission work, he had maps of five provinces 
 spread out before him, maps which he had been 
 studying before. He called for colors with which 
 to mark, and they brought a saucer with three 
 colors on it to his bedside. With these colors, he 
 marked out the strategic points on the maps, one 
 color for those which should be soonest occupied, 
 another for those of next importance in the cam- 
 
Death and Burial. 
 
 135 
 
 paign, and the third for the next. As he did this 
 he became so excited and animated over it that 
 his friends had to check him. Early Thursday 
 morning, he asked his wife and all the friends who 
 were with him to come in and he bade each one 
 an affectionate farewell ; from that time on he 
 spoke very few words ; everything was done and 
 said that he wished to say ; his soul was at rest, 
 and he was simply waiting to go ; he gradually 
 sank and at about twenty minutes past two o'clock, 
 Thursday afternoon, Jan. 23, he breathed his last. 
 
 A mattress and bedding had been secured for 
 him a day or two before he died, but he said that 
 he came into the world in confusion, and he was 
 not worthy to die so comfortably. The last 
 passage of scripture which he asked to have read 
 to him, a few hours before he died, was Ephesians, 
 third chapter. This was read, friends prayed with 
 and for him, and he was at rest. 
 
 The following is a free translation of a poem 
 Dr. Neesima wrote as he entered upon the new 
 year. " As the old year goes out, I leave its 
 sorrows behind. In bodily weakness I hear the 
 early cockcrowing, ushering in the new year ; 
 although I am of little worth, and my plans for the 
 salvation of the people have been deficient, yet 
 
136 Last Days of Work, Sickness, 
 
 now with a greater aim, will I enter upon the new 
 year." 
 
 Among the farewell words, penned at his side 
 just before he died, are the following. To Mrs. 
 Hardy ; " I am going away ; a thousand thanks 
 for your love and kindness to me during the many 
 years of the past, and also for the fine presents 
 you sent me lately. I cannot write myself ; I 
 leave this world with a heart full of gratitude for 
 all you have done for my happiness." To Dr. 
 Clark ; " I want to thank you most sincerely for 
 ,your confidence in me, and in all I have under 
 taken. I have been able to do so little, owing to 
 the delicate condition of my health." 
 
 The following are free translations of others of 
 his farewell words. In regard to the Doshisha ; 
 * The future object of the Doshisha is for the- 
 advancement of Christianity, Literature and Polit- 
 ical Science, and for the furtherance of all educa- 
 tion. These are all to be pursued together as 
 helping each other. The object of the education 
 of the Doshisha is not Theology, Literature or 
 Political Science in themselves alone, but that 
 through this education, men of great and living 
 power who love true freedom, may be trained up, 
 men who shall live for their country." " The 
 
Death and Burial. 1 37 
 
 Trustees should deal wisely and kindly with the 
 students. Strong minded and bold students should 
 not be hardly dealt with, but dealt with according 
 to their nature, so as to develop them into strong, 
 useful men. There is danger that as r the school 
 grows larger, it will become more and more 
 mechanical, hence this should be carefully guarded 
 against." " The utmost care should be taken, that 
 the foreign and Japanese teachers may be united 
 together in love, and work together without friction. 
 I have many times stood between the two, and have 
 had trouble. In future, I ask the Trustees to do 
 the same as I have done." "I have not desired 
 to make a single enemy, but if there are any who 
 feel inimical toward me, I ask such to forgive me, 
 for I have not the least ill feeling in my heart toward- 
 anyone." " The work which has been accom- 
 plished is not mine but yours, for I have been 
 enabled to do it only through your earnest 
 cooperation ; so that I do not regard it as my 
 work at all, and I can only most sincerely thank 
 all those who have so zealously worked with me." 
 " Do not find fault with heaven, nor blame men." 
 " My feelings in regard to the Doshisha are ever 
 like this poem ; " In time of cherry blossoms in 
 Mt. Yoshino, morning by morning, my great 
 
1 38 Last Days of Work, Sickness, 
 
 anxiety is lest a cloud come and destroy the view." 
 By a curious coincidence, Dr. Neesima was 
 born on the 14th day of the 14th year of Tempo, and 
 he died on the 23rd day of the 23rd year of Meiji. 
 The body reached the Kyoto station by rail from 
 Oiso, at half past eleven o'clock, Saturday evening, 
 and the whole school were at the station to meet 
 it. The school was formed in line of march, the 
 Preparatory students in front, and the classes in 
 order, ending with the Theological classes in the 
 rear. The Preparatory students began carrying 
 the bier, as many as could take hold of it, and they 
 changed at each corner, so that when we had 
 reached the house, all had had a part in bearing 
 the loved body. It was a scene never to be 
 forgotten ; a light snow was falling ; snow covered 
 the ground, melting into slush, but there were 
 very few of the nearly seven hundred students 
 who were not in line that night, and when we 
 reached the gate of Dr. Neesima's house, two 
 and a half miles distant from the station, before 
 we entered, one of the teachers made a very 
 touching prayer, one of the petitions of which 
 was, that in all the funeral exercises we might do 
 as our departed brother would desire. 
 
 On the Sabbath, the casket was open in the house, 
 

 Dcatii and Burial* 139 
 
 and all the students and teachers of the Doshisha 
 schools, and hundreds of others viewed the face they 
 loved. A memorial service in Japanese, three hours 
 long, was held in the chapel in the forenoon, and one 
 two hours long in English, in the afternoon. The 
 funeral was on Monday, the 27th. A large tent 
 was extemporised by covering poles with tent-flies, 
 in front of the College chapel, and all the seats from 
 the chapels and recitation rooms of the school were 
 placed in it so that three thousand people crowded 
 into the tent, and about one thousand more stood 
 outside. About fifty huge bouquets of flowers, 
 arranged with branches of evergreen, nearly five 
 feet high, stood in line from the gate to the 
 entrance of the chapel. The casket was covered 
 with flowers in beautiful designs, and a large table 
 in front was also covered with wreaths, anchors, 
 etc., etc. The service was simple ; hymns ; reading 
 the third of Ephesians, the last passage Dr. 
 Neesima had read to him ; two tender prayers ; 
 reading a brief history of his life ; and Mr. Kosaki 
 preached a short and very appropriate sermon 
 from John XII, 24. 
 
 The funeral was attended by all the members of 
 the schools ; by the Mercantile school which 
 marched up in a body ; by about seventy graduates 
 
140 Last Days of Work> Sickness ; 
 
 of the Doshisha, who had come from all parts of the 
 empire ; by hundreds of Christians from the city 
 and hundreds from outside the city, as well as 
 by many hundreds of others, including the 
 Governor and many officials of the Kyoto Fu, the 
 Governor of the Shiga Ken, a delegation of Bud- 
 dhist priests from Osaka, and by many members of 
 his own and of other missions. 
 
 At half past two o'clock, in a pouring rain, the 
 procession formed ; the students again acting as 
 bearers ; they had insisted from the first that no 
 one outside of the school should touch anything ; 
 they assisted in digging the grave ; they now bore 
 the loved remains to their last resting place, and 
 carried all the fifty or more large bouquets, the 
 banners, etc. The procession reached nearly from 
 Imadegawa to San Jo Dori a mile and a half , 
 it went down Teramachi to San Jo, east on 
 San Jo to the side of the mountain, and through 
 the beautiful Buddhist temple grove where the body 
 I of Dr. Neesima's father rests, and where burial was 
 ' refused for Dr. Neesima's body, because he was 
 the " very head-centre of Christianity in Japan, " 
 as they said, and then wound up the mountain 
 to a most beautiful spot, overlooking the city and 
 the mountains and valleys beyond. Many banners 
 
Dca th and Burial. 1 4 1 
 
 were borne in the procession, including one from 
 Osaka, inscribed, "From the Buddhists of Osaka;" 
 one also from Tokyo on which was inscribed one 
 of the last utterances of Dr. Neesima, " Free 
 education, Self-governing Churches ; these keeping 
 equal step ; will bring this nation to honor. " Many 
 from the school also ; among the inscriptions in 
 English were, " Remember me," " There is a 
 happy land," " Yet I live," "The Truth shall 
 make you free," etc. At the grave, two hymns 
 were sung, a prayer was offered, and the benedic- 
 tion closed the exercises. 
 
 The earnest, tried soul is at rest ; he has heard 
 the welcome, " Well done thou good and faithful 
 servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." He 
 is in the midst of that joy, while we strive to finish 
 the work which our loved brother began to do, the 
 foundations of which he so well laid. 
 
 The great company of mourning friends who 
 assembled from all parts of the empire at his 
 funeral, and the hundreds of sympathetic telegrams 
 which came from leading men, show how wide 
 was the influence of this great commoner. Vis- 
 count Aoki, Minister of Foreign Affairs, sent a 
 letter saying, " I have lost a great and good 
 friend." Count Inouye telegraphed to those at 
 
1 42 Death and Burial* 
 
 his sick bed, "You must keep him alive." He 
 still lives. Tho dead, he still speaks to this whole 
 nation. 
 
VII. 
 
 MEDITATIONS, CHARACTER, LESSONS. 
 
" Blessed are the dead ivhich die in the Lord from henceforth 
 yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors ; for their 
 works follow with them." Rev. XIV. 13. "Except a grain of 
 loheat fall into the earth and die, it abideth by itself alone ; but if 
 it die, it beareth much fruit." John XII. 24. 
 
 14 Humility is the base of every virtue. 
 
 " God keeps all his pity for the proud." Bailey. 
 
 44 Hath any wronged thee ? be bravely revenged : 
 
 44 Slight it, and the work is begun; forgive it, and * tis finished." 
 
 " Good must ever live, and walk up and down the earth, like a 
 living spirit, guided by the living God, to convey blessings to the 
 children of men. It lives in humanity, in some form or other, like 
 the subtle substance of material things, ivhich tlto ever changing never 
 perishes, but fldds to the stability, the beauty, and the grandeur of 
 the universe. The influence of the holy character also passes beyond 
 the stars, giving joy to our angel brothers; and to our elder Brother, 
 Jesus Christ, who in seeing his own love to his, and our God, to his 
 neighbor and ours, reflected in his people, beholds the grand result of 
 the travail of his soid, and is satisfied.'* Macleod. 
 
 44 Some soul shall reap ivhat we have sown in tears." 
 
 Laura B. Boyce. 
 " They never quite leave us the friends ivho have passed 
 " Through the shadows of death to the sunlight above ; 
 u A thousand sweet memories are holding them fast 
 14 To the places they blessed with their presence and love." 
 
 M. E. Sangster. 
 
 44 Lives of great men all remind us 
 44 We can make our lives sublime, 
 " And, departing, leave behind us 
 " Footprints on the sands of time 
 
 44 Footprints that perhaps another, 
 " Sailing o'er life's solemn main, 
 41 A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, 
 "Seeing shall take heart again." Longfellow. 
 
CHAPTER SEVENTH 
 
 The most difficult part of the writing of this 
 sketch of our brother, is the right estimate of his 
 character ; we are asked in what his greatness con- 
 sisted ? Although he had mental power above the 
 average, that was not the secret of his power ; 
 although he had fair executive ability, this, also, 
 was not the secret of his great success. He went to 
 the United States and had extra advantages given 
 him, so that he came back to Japan when there 
 were very few among his countrymen who had 
 similar advantages, but neither was this the great 
 secret of his power. There was a deeper, a more 
 subtle, and more important secret of his power 
 and success than all these. 
 
 Before attempting to analyze his character, I 
 want to give a few meditations found in his note- 
 books written in Europe and America in 1884-5, 
 and a few extracts from letters which he has 
 written during the last fifteen years ; these extracts 
 could be multiplied almost indefinitely. The fol- 
 
146 Meditations, Character Lessons. 
 
 lowing were written in his journal, July 24th, 
 1884, while in the Waldensian Valley, Italy. 
 
 " There is great danger of our forming an opinion 
 of others by looking at them in one case. We 
 should be careful, because some are quite deficient 
 in one thing, tho they may be quite efficient in 
 other things. There must be some defect found in 
 a so-called perfect man. In the first place, Find 
 his temper ; 2, His education ; 3, His surround- 
 ings ; 4, His circumstances or situation in life; 5, 
 See him, how he behaves in some unusual case. 
 
 Never criticise too soon ; surely we shall misjudge 
 him. Judge him with a Christian grace. Never 
 be too harsh or too minute ; love him as our heaven- 
 ly Father loves us. If we have love on our side 
 then we may lose all our petty, criticising spirit. 
 Oh ! it is a most unhappy and unhealthy thing to 
 have too critical eyes for others. The best way 
 will be not to judge others, as our Lord has 
 taught. When we discover some defect in others, 
 take it as if it were upon us, and try never to repeat 
 it again. When we see great success among our 
 brethren wish more success for him. Never look 
 upon our dear brethren with envious eye. If he is 
 good, praise him, pray for him and follow his 
 example. I often observed that when some one 
 
Meditatioas, Character, Lessons. 147 
 
 heard good news of his friend, some one would 
 say, ' But he is so and so,' instead of rejoicing 
 over his success. There is a weak human nature 
 prevailing everywhere. There is a great deal of 
 competition among educated people. Note ; Be 
 specially patient when we are sick or are feeling 
 unhappy." 
 
 It is wonderful to see this man, who had himself 
 come out of darkness only a few years before, 
 while travelling in dark Italy alone, write 
 down such meditations as fill his journals during 
 those months. Here are others of the same date, 
 July 24th. "Silence." " Silence is one of the 
 virtues. There is much safety in silence. Wise 
 men never talk much ; as our mouth and tongue 
 were given to use for good purposes, use them for 
 good purposes. Vain and senseless talking often 
 injure our reputation and cause us to lose our 
 manhood. I often noticed uneasiness and chaff- 
 like element in some vain, talkative men. There 
 is something noble and secure in silence. Silence 
 is a manly forbearance. A man of silence is a 
 blessing to a family or to a society. Silence 
 ought by no means to be combined with a bitter 
 countenance but with a cheerful countenance. 
 Vain talking often disturbs affairs in a family or 
 
148 Meditations, Character, Lessons. 
 
 in society, but silence heals it. We can easily 
 weigh a man of vain talk, but we could not easily 
 measure the depth of the mind of a wisely silent 
 man. But do not keep silence, if we can by talk- 
 ing do much good to others, or for the truth. 
 Oh, how large a portion of our talk we spend for 
 vain things of the world, and how little for the 
 truth ! When a word goes out of our mouth it is 
 like spilled water on the parched soil, there is no 
 possibility of taking it back again ; what is said is 
 said ; it becomes a fact of our lives for which we 
 must give account in the future. But above all, 
 let us not harbour evil thoughts, for evil thoughts 
 are the main spring of evil and vain talking." 
 
 Same date, " Poor creatures : we plan much 
 and do very little. Our plans are often defeated 
 by something." Same date, " Receive others 
 patiently. If any one imitates a hero, let him be 
 so, receive him well. If any brother do not 
 behave as he ought, let us wait for some occasion 
 to drop a kind word, so as not to offend him. 
 Never send away a brother in Christ when 
 he comes and seeks our friendship. Bear the 
 evils of others for God's sake, for he bears our 
 evils patiently. He doss not correct us furiously, 
 at once, but u>es many occasions to heal us and 
 
Meditations, Character, Lessons. 149 
 
 takes many years to sanctify us. But let us by no 
 means neglect our duty toward others. Look at 
 the ocean, how beautifully it looks ! Yet it must 
 receive many filthy matters from the shores ; it 
 receives and purifies them. We shall be happy 
 men if we can be like it. Be minute for ourselves 
 in everything, but when we come to deal with 
 others, let us be careful not to offend them with a 
 close calculation." 
 
 Same date, " Don't be Jack-at-all-trades. In 
 passing through some country towns, I notice 
 that there are ever so many things spread and 
 shown in shops, but when I closely examined 
 each article, I found that each kind is rather 
 scanty. It is well for us to be widely informed on 
 many subjects, but do not imitate these country 
 shops ; many articles with a scanty supply of each. 
 We ought to be well posted at least in one subject 
 of the professional studies. It will be a rich treat 
 to us. Success in our life will chiefly hang upon 
 it. Let this be our offensive or defensive weapon 
 on the battle field of truth. Tho our talent may 
 be small, yet it is solid and weighty. Be single 
 minded for a single purpose. We shall sooner or 
 later reach our mark. Never shoot our arrows 
 into the air, aim at an object surely, and then let 
 
i <$o Meditations, Character, Lessons. 
 
 it go. If we miss, then repeat the process again 
 and again until we can satisfy ourselves. I never 
 knew a single case of a talented, puffed up, yet 
 unsettled minded man having accomplished any- 
 thing noteworthy." 
 
 Same date, " Never miss a rare occasion to do 
 good. Let our guns be always loaded. When we 
 meet our game, aim at it and shoot it instantly, 
 for our game will never wait for us. When we 
 meet any occasion to do good to others, then don't 
 let it go. Don't wait for tomorrow, do it at once, 
 for we may never have the occasion again. To 
 shoot wild game is a mere pleasure, but to shoot 
 men for our Master is a grave business. Let our 
 guns be first loaded with living powder and bullets 
 from on high and be always ready. Many hunt- 
 ers of men carry their guns unloaded ; this ex- 
 plains the reason why Christ's kingdom among 
 men does not spread faster." Same date, July 
 24th. " At my sick bed." 
 
 " The Divine Fire." " Many Christian ministers 
 may have highest culture, and may write their 
 sermons with much skill and thought ; beautifully 
 executed work, like a Grecian marble statue. 
 Alas ! there is no heat in it. Heat must be 
 caused by fire ; if there is no fire in the sermon to 
 
Meditations, Character, Lessons. I $ r 
 
 heat the hearers' hearts, it is a serious affair ; 
 Divine fire is needed for heating man's heart. 
 This fire can only be got by daily seeking. Those 
 who depend very much upon their talent and 
 knowledge, are very apt to forget to seek this 
 much needed Divine fire for themselves, as well as 
 for their hearers. How cold such a heart must be 
 to a congregation : it is fireless and lifeless. If 
 each professing Christian has this Divine fire, what 
 will be the aspect of the Christian world ? If each 
 has this fire, Christ's kingdom will come much fast- 
 er. Oh! heavenly Father, give us this fire! How- 
 ever small we may be, if we have genuine fire, w r e 
 shall consume even the whole world. How small 
 a spark of fire burned up a vast forest in Canada ! 
 How small a lamp light consumed two-thirds of 
 the great city of Chicago ! Sometimes one may 
 make an artificial fire in imitation of the Divine 
 fire, but his hearers will sooner or later detect it ; 
 it is a mock fire. God will not bless such. Oh, 
 let the Divine fire be burning within us always. 
 
 Same date, " Man's Greatness." " Man's great- 
 ness is not simply in his learning but in his 
 disinterestedness in self. Those with much learn- 
 ing are apt to be more selfish than the unlearned. 
 Let us look at Christ on the cross. He is our 
 
152 Meditations, Charactc?-, Lessons. 
 
 example. Oh, how noble, how grand, how 
 gracious he seems to us ! Let us forget self, and 
 offer ourselves freely for the cause of truth and 
 good. Let us also be truly penitent and humble. 
 I call this man's greatness." 
 
 The above meditations were written in one day, 
 when, after going up on a mountain excursion from 
 Rosa in the Waldensian valley, he says, " We 
 passed one night in the mountain house. I sent 
 my thick coat and shawl with a donkey, and the 
 donkey did not come that evening. I had to go 
 without my shawl ; I slept under the hay ; uncom- 
 fortable." The result was that the next day, July 
 22nd, he had a fever and it took him two days to 
 get back to Rosa again. His entry for the next 
 day after his return, July 24th, is, " I was quite 
 unwell ; called Dr. Vala ; he gave me quinine once 
 in two hours." Yet on this day, "At my sick 
 bed," he wrote the meditations, above given. 
 
 Here follow other meditations from his journal. 
 "A thought for preaching." "Suppose the 
 future Judge of the moral world comes down now 
 and summons each of us to appear before him, and 
 uncovers all our past deeds before the congregation, 
 how many of you will dare to step forward and get 
 all your deeds eternally penned upon the walls of the 
 
Meditations, Character, Lessons. 153 
 
 sacred edifice to be read by each of you?" 
 
 " Human Happiness." " God gave us a sense of 
 happiness so that we might be truly happy. It is 
 right for us to feel happy when anything is given 
 us from Him. Let us be happy for the daily bread 
 we receive, happy for pleasant circumstances, good 
 home, good friends, pleasant situation, etc. But all 
 the earthly happiness will become as nothing at 
 all when we are permitted to step though the gate 
 of Paradise and catch the glory of the Lamb of 
 God*, who caused the gate of Heaven to be opened 
 to us ; let us aim at this happiness ; this, only, is 
 abiding." 
 
 " Promises." " Fulfill your promises promptly ; 
 never postpone it till tomorrow, for we may not see 
 it, or may be fully occupied with something else ; 
 then we shall have no occasion for excusing our- 
 selves for the delay. It is a sort of weakness and 
 sham for a inan to make all sorts of apologies to 
 another ; let yea be yea and nay be nay. Do, or 
 not do. Never be sluggish, and never leave busi- 
 ness half done." 
 
 " Business Character." " The Italians appear to 
 be polite, but they lack business character. They 
 arc easy and like to be easy. They would rather 
 postpone their business if they can. . They will not 
 
I 54 Meditations, Character, Lessons. 
 
 move unless they are pushed by some one. Do 
 your business promptly when it is required to be 
 done. Do not waste your time by talking; do it 
 at once and it is done." " Try to talk what Ave 
 mean, but never talk anything which we do not 
 really mean in our heart. It is a moral weakness 
 to say what we do not really mean. Straight- 
 forwardness can be found mostly among the Anglo- 
 Saxon races, English and Americans." 
 
 " Roughness and Politeness." " A rough manner 
 with a kind heart is far more preferable than a petty 
 politeness with no least meaning. Japan is one of 
 the politest nations in the world, but, alas ! their 
 heart is far from it. Artificial politeness became 
 the national habit. This is not the result of true 
 sincerity. Politeness ought to be a necessary ex- 
 ponent of true love and kindness, but politeness 
 without a least meaning is a sort of deception." 
 " Remember that w r e are always naked before Him 
 who does never slumber nor sleep." 
 
 " Watchfulness." " Watch, pray, and be pre- 
 pared for the Master's call. We know not when 
 he will come, whether in the first watch, the 
 second watch, the third watch, or the fourth." 
 
 " A policy for our Training School." " Let us 
 be like an unpolished diamond, never mind the 
 

 Meditations, Character, Lessons. 155 
 
 outward, rough appearance, if we can have a 
 shining- part within. Let these three factors be 
 our perpetual mottoes : I. Christ as our foundation 
 stone. 2. Well qualified instructors. 3. Well 
 selected library and thoroughly equipped ap- 
 paratus. Those three factors will be true and 
 shining parts of our Training School. Too much of 
 brick and mortar does not suit my humble taste. 
 I am terribly craving for the inner polish that 
 will be a glory of our school ; that will certainly 
 command the respect to the thoughtful Japanese 
 more than brick, stone and mortar." 
 
 " The True Hero Worshipper." " Most of the 
 Japanese will be hero worshippers ; they are a hard 
 set of people to be managed, except by a hero to 
 whom they can look up. Yet they are very easy 
 to be led away by a hero. They are moved with 
 the sensational currents of the hero's opinions. 
 There is a lack of individuality in them. Most of 
 the hero worshippers will be always colored by the 
 same tint as the hero himself. The weak point is 
 that they do not rise above their hero. If the 
 hero makes a mistake, or failure in his career, they 
 will do the same. If the hero falls, they will fall, 
 likewise. The matter has been so with us when 
 we examine our history closely. You will also 
 
156 Meditations ^ Character, L 
 
 CSSOllS. 
 
 find that there has been no hero in Japan who 
 has done all for unselfish ends. He is apt to 
 be more selfish than the common mass of the 
 people. If their mind be directed toward the 
 Hero of heroes, the greatest the world has ever 
 produced, I am sure it would revolutionise the 
 future of Japan. He is far above Socrates and 
 Confucius, yet he is a friend of the poor. He is 
 far above Alexander and Napoleon, yet he shed 
 his own blood for the people, instead of shedding 
 the blood of hundreds of thousands of innocents 
 for his own gratification. He had no selfish aim 
 in his life ; he was perfectly holy and yet perfectly 
 simple ; he had no place to rest his head, yet he 
 sat from eternity on the throne of the universe. 
 If the Japanese are bound to worship heroes, let 
 them worship this Hero, the Hero of heroes. His 
 worshippers will also be tinted with the one best 
 color, that is, the color of godliness. Within this 
 bound, there is an ample scope for freedom ; man 
 can choose any professions except bad and harmful 
 ones. In following and worshipping him, we 
 shall obtain the true human liberty, we shall cer- 
 tainly have our individuality. Oh, how I long that 
 our people should turn their attention on this 
 Hero who is far above weak humanity! " 
 
Meditations, Character, Lessons. i 5 7 
 
 " Questions." " Is there any one in the world 
 who is perfectly above selfish ambition? How can 
 lie know himself that he is perfectly free from 
 that ? How can we know that such an one is free 
 from it ? Is there also any one who is perfectly 
 free from the slightest deception? Could ever 
 deception be eradicated from civilised society? 
 How many of us could say to God that I have 
 lived my life without the slightest ambition or 
 deception ? Has any one ever seen, or could we 
 ever expect to see such a perfect type of humanity 
 among the race of Adam, except the Son of God ? 
 It is too foolish to entertain such a question. 
 But I would like to meet a person of the above 
 description." 
 
 "A Best Method of Teaching." " If I teach 
 again I will pay a special attention to the poorest 
 scholar in the class, then I should succeed." 
 
 In a letter from Tokyo, March 24th, 1878, he 
 closes the letter with, " Tray for me so that I 
 may be directed entirely by His hand." After an 
 absence in Tokyo, on his return, he writes, 
 " Kyoto, Monday morning, July 21st, 1879. I 
 arrived in Kobe yesterday at five P.M., and passed 
 the last night in Nishinomiya. I might have 
 returned home last night, but lest I should break 
 
158 Meditations, Character, Lessons. 
 
 the sabbath, I stayed at the above mentioned 
 place. I came home this morning a little after 
 nine o'clock. I have not seen Mr. Yamamoto 
 yet, but I don't believe the present difficulty is 
 very serious. We have the strong God to depend 
 upon. I trust He will make the matter all right." 
 
 During the revival at the time of the Dai Shimbo- 
 kukwai or General Conference, in Tokyo, he writes, 
 "Tokyo, May 1 1 th, 1 883. Dear Brethren in Kyoto; 
 I am anxious to write a few lines to inform you how 
 the Lord blessed us in our Dai Shimbokukwai. 
 We commenced it on Tuesday, with a one hour 
 prayer meeting. It was the most impressive 
 meeting I ever attended in my life. A spirit of 
 union was greatly manifested in that meeting ; 
 then followed the business meeting ; Mr. Miyaga- 
 wa was elected chairman. In the afternoon we 
 had reports of the delegates ; it was a most enjoy- 
 able part of the conference. I can assure you that 
 the Lord blessed us far more than we asked for." 
 
 While in America the last time, he wrote, dated 
 Boston, March 9th, 1885, closing the letter, thus, 
 " The only trouble I have now is a burning, 
 heavy headache with occasional repeats of the 
 pain in my forehead. I can't do much yet, but I 
 am not discouraged. I am cheerful and hopeful. 
 
Meditations, Character, Lessons. 159 
 
 I trust you arc praying for me. Pray for me, so 
 that I may no longer live for myself but only for 
 my Master. M 
 
 Again, when he had heard news affecting the Do- 
 shisha which greatly troubled him, he writes from 
 Dorchester, Mass. March 22nd, 1 885. " We shall be 
 in a hard fix then. I know not what to say, but I 
 can only state to you that / am on my knees. I 
 hope I shall get a further light upon this serious 
 subject." In the same letter, he speaks of the great 
 trials and difficulties of the past, and says, " I often 
 wonder how I ever came through those deep 
 muds of the past," but he adds, " I received the 
 sustaining courage and strength from the unseen 
 Hand," and again, at the close of the same letter, 
 " Recently I learned something from experience, 
 when I meet any serious or alarming case, I keep 
 myself stand still , not to be frightened by them ; 
 afterward they pass off all right." Again, when 
 serious misunderstanding had arisen in regard to 
 Mr. Neesima's action, and a letter had been sent 
 to him which he calls, " The most insulting letter 
 I ever received in my life," he writes from Milford, 
 Delaware, in regard to it, April 20th, 1885, " I am 
 sorry t > say that his letter is thrown into the 
 waste basket. When I read it, I said within myself, 
 
i Co Meditations^ Character> Lessons. 
 
 1 What ! have I lost a sense of honor? ' but I knelt 
 right down for God's grace to preserve me, in his 
 hand. I am all right now, please don't mention 
 it tc any one." " I thank God for his ever sustain- 
 ing grace to me. Each trial and each difficulty 
 draws me nearer to his hand ; he sustains me and 
 helps me far beyond what I can ever know or 
 discover. Pray for me that I may be ever nearer 
 to him." May 26th, 1885, he closes a long letter 
 of ten pages written from Boston, which is full of 
 plans for the school, and for the spreading of the 
 work in Japan, with, " Pray for me that I may 
 rest in the Lord." When starting for Tokyo in 
 August 1875 to try and get permission to start the 
 Doshisha, he closes his letter with the words, 
 " Pray for my success." 
 
 Dr. Neesima had a deep vein of humor in his 
 nature. I remember that the first time we came 
 to Kyoto, in June 1875, to look at the land for the 
 Doshisha, we visited the San Jiu San Gen Do, a 
 Buddhist temple where are a thousand life-size 
 wooden images. As we walked among them, Dr. 
 Neesima said with a laugh, " These images are just 
 fit to keep poor students warm in the winter." A 
 missionary once sent a very cheap kakemono, 
 or wall-picture, to a friend in America. When 
 
Meditations, Character, Lessons. 161 
 
 Dr. Neesima was in the United States the last 
 time, he visited this friend, and was shown this 
 article over which a great deal more ado was made 
 than the article warranted ; he was asked to 
 explain it, and he told the missionary who sent 
 it, after he returned to Japan, " I read all the 
 characters except the price mark; I thought," 
 said he, with a twinkle of the eye, " you would be 
 willing I should omit that." Only a day or two 
 before he died, when his wife and one or two 
 other friends were changing his clothes, and 
 causing him to groan with the severe pain, " Oh 
 how you hurt," he said with a groan, and then 
 added, " This is the first time I've ever been 
 stripped by good people." 
 
 Dr. Neesima told one of our number the follow- 
 ing incident of his early boyhood. His father was 
 rather strict with him and one day whipped him 
 severely on his hand ; this made him very angry, 
 so that he sulked and would not speak to his 
 father, so after a day or two his father called him 
 to the little garden, pointed to a delicate bamboo, 
 called the sasa and recited this poem, " Nikunde 
 wa utanu mono nari ; sasa no yuki." " I do not 
 strike in anger ; snow on the sasa." As snow 
 bends and almost breaks the delicate sasa, we 
 
1 62 Meditations, Character, Lessons. 
 
 must tap it gently so that it will rise erect again. 
 By this Dr. Neesima felt touched, knowing his 
 father's love for him, and he ceased his sulks. 
 When Dr. Neesima began the study of the Dutch 
 language in Tokyo, he needed a dictionary, but he 
 had no money, so he opened his father's money 
 drawer, took out eight yen and put in its place a 
 paper saying he had taken it and would replace 
 it sometime ; when the money was missed and the 
 paper found, Dr. Neesima said that he had 
 borrowed it, and that he had to run in debt two 
 yen more to get the dictionary, whereupon his 
 father gave him the balance of two yen. 
 
 Miss. Isabella Bird describes her visit at Dr. 
 Neesima's home in her " Unbeaten Tracks in 
 Japan," Vol. II, page 232-235. She says, "Mr. 
 Neesima is a gentleman to begin with, and has 
 quiet, easy, courteous manners. He is a genial, 
 enlightened Christian and an intensely patriotic 
 Japanese. He gives a sad account of the lack of 
 truth and the general corruption of morals 
 among his countrymen. I asked him what, in his 
 opinion, are the leading faults of his countrymen, 
 and he replied without a moment's hesitation, 
 * Lying and licentiousness.' " 
 
 Dr. Neesima was present at the opening of the 
 
Meditations, Character, Lessons. 163 
 
 branch sabbath school, in a large pottery in the 
 southern part of the city of Okayama in the fall 
 of 1 880, and was invited to preach the first sermon. 
 In it he emphasised the need of being pure in heart, 
 and told of seeing in America a beautiful and 
 and costly Japanese vase which the gentleman had 
 recently purchased. He admired and praised the 
 workmanship to the gentleman's satisfaction, but 
 when asked to explain the designs, he hung his head. 
 " There " said he, " were the signs of our country's 
 shame, the designs were too vile to be told." 
 
 Dr. Neesima's character contained the principle 
 of love to a marked degree. He had strong love 
 for his friends and it was a love which was broad 
 as well as deep. He deeply loved the students of 
 his school, and this love was universally reciprocat- 
 ed by the students. He loved them so much 
 that it almost broke his heart to have any of them 
 leave the school on account of dissatisfaction, or" 
 to have to send any one out of the school as a 
 punishment. He could hardly bear to exercise 
 discipline in the school. On one occasion during 
 the earlier history of the school, some grave of- 
 fences had been committed, and yet Dr. Neesima 
 felt that the school was partly to blame, or such 
 things would not happen, and instead of punishing 
 
164 Meditations, Character, Lessons, 
 
 the offending students, he said the Doshisha 
 must be punished ; so, one morning at prayers in 
 the chapel, he stated those convictions to the 
 school, and said that he was going to punish the 
 Doshisha, and he could do it in no other way 
 than by punishing the head of the school, and so, 
 taking a stout withe in his right hand, he struck 
 his left hand a succession of blows which brought 
 the tears to every eye in the house before one of 
 the older students could interfere to stop him. 
 In all his connection with the school, I never 
 heard a student say anything against him, and I 
 never knew that one did so. 
 
 Dr. Neesima's love for the members of his own 
 Mission and for all the foreign workers in Japan, 
 was very strong, and they loved him in return. 
 His earnest yet simple and unassuming ways won 
 all hearts and begat a love which no discussions 
 r difference of opinion interrupted. He had the 
 love and respect of all the foreign workers in Japan 
 who knew him, and he had no more sincere mourn- 
 ers at his death than the large company of foreign 
 friends of different Missions who gathered at the 
 memorial services in Kyoto and in other places. 
 . Another trait was peace. He tried as much in 
 him lay to live in peace with all men. He was 
 
Meditations, Character, Lessons. 165 
 
 ready to yield his own view ; this was almost a 
 fault with him. He was sometimes too ready to 
 yield to the opinions of others. During all the 
 years of his connection with the school as 
 its President and head, he never once, so far as I 
 know, set up his opinion against that of the teach- 
 ers ; he always yielded and worked in harmony 
 with them, fie was always ready to yield any 
 point which he felt was not contrary to the great 
 aim of his life ; when that was at stake, the whole 
 world could not move him. He was generally a 
 joyful, cheerful man. His strong faith and hope 
 kept him in an atmosphere of joy. So, too, we 
 might speak of his long-suffering, gentleness and 
 goodness, also of his faith ; in the darkest hours, 
 his faith in God and in ultimate success only seem- 
 ed to grow stronger. 
 
 His meekness was remarkable. He was from 
 the first the head of the school, and yet, during 
 all those years, he kept himself in the background 
 and never insisted on his rights as President. It 
 was hard work to get him to take the President's 
 seat on the platform in the chapel. 
 
 When, however, we go deeper and seek the 
 main-spring of these graces, we find as the Apostle 
 tells us in Gal. V. 22, 23, that they were all the 
 
1 66 Meditations , Character, Lessons. 
 
 " Fruit of the Spirit." The main-spring of Dr. 
 Neesima's character and the secret of his great 
 success was in his union to God in Christ through 
 the Spirit. He felt with Paul, " I can do all 
 things through Christ who strengtheneth me." 
 
 It is difficult to analyse the great secret of his 
 power and success, but we may mention a few 
 points. 
 
 1 . Loyalty to duty. From the day he read of 
 the Creator in the little Chinese Geography, to 
 the day of his death, his loyalty to duty shines 
 out. As soon as he gained an idea of God, he 
 felt his obligation to him and he began to dis- 
 charge it, and as the months and years went on 
 and his vision of duty broadened, his sense of 
 obligation broadened with it, and efforts to dis- 
 charge that obligation kept pace with his enlarging 
 vision. No matter what were the circumstances, 
 and no matter how great the loss, he was always 
 loyal to the higher duty. Take the example of his 
 travels in Europe with the Embassy ; he would 
 stop off and spend the sabbath alone. 
 
 2. He took a great aim and one which was in 
 harmony with God's great aim. He did not take 
 a low aim, he did not take a selfish one ; he took 
 for his aim the establishment of a qreat Christian 
 
Meditations, Character, Lessons, 167 
 
 University, for the sake of lifting up so far as he 
 could through that, his whole nation toward God 
 and a Christian civilisation. His great aim was 
 not education for its own sake, but for Christ's sake 
 and as a help to lead the millions of Japan to 
 Christ and eternal life. The results of that school 
 are already changing the history of the empire. 
 
 3. He had a holy, absorbing ambition to realise 
 his great aim. This ambition led him to forget 
 himself, and devote his whole being, and all his 
 powers to secure the great aim of his life. He 
 counted not his life dear to him if he could ac- 
 complish his great object. When, a few years 
 before he died, the question was raised of his going 
 to the United States a third time to try and secure 
 money for the endowment of the University, 
 and his physicians told him it would be almost 
 certain death for him to go, he replied that that 
 would make no difference with him, if he felt that 
 by going he could secure the money. His going 
 to Tokyo and working during the last months of 
 his life were done in a similar spirit. He wanted 
 to die in the harness, and he did. 
 
 4. He committed himself and his great plan and 
 all its details to God, with a firm faith that God 
 would give him success. He never seemed to 
 
1 68 Meditations, CJiaracte?', Lessons. 
 
 waver even in the darkest days. In the last Eng- 
 lish letter which he wrote, this faith shines out. 
 After speaking of the gift of 100,000 dollars for 
 the Scientific School, just as Prof. Shimomura 
 was ready to return to his work in the school, he 
 says, " Is it not wonderful that when he w r as about 
 ready to come home, the way to make himself 
 useful was opened before him. Oh dear friend, I 
 am a strong believer in the most wonderful deal- 
 ings of Providence with those whoever believe in 
 God. As for me, I am a man of delicate health and 
 am not permitted to do much now. However, he 
 has employed this poor and helpless instrumen- 
 tality to bless others in his behalf." And then in 
 that letter he tells of his " Day-dream to found a 
 Christian College," and how he received no human 
 encouragement, but he says, " However, I was not 
 discouraged at all, I kept it within myself and 
 prayed over it." Then the night before he made 
 his appeal for money at Rutland, he could not 
 sleep, and says, "I was then like that poor Jacob, 
 wrestling with God in my prayers. " Then, later, 
 when he took up the larger work of founding a 
 University, he says, in the same letter, " The mat- 
 ter seemed to myself and also to my friends that 
 I am hoping for something altogether beyond a 
 
Meditations, Character, Lessons. 169 
 
 hope, however, I had a strong conviction that God 
 Avill help us to found it in his Name's sake," and 
 again, " I have a full hope that my vague day- 
 dream for a Christian University will sooner or 
 later be realised, and in some future we shall find 
 occasion to give thanks to him who has led us and 
 blessed us beyond our expectation." 
 
 5. His heart was greatly interested in direct 
 mission work. Deeper than all other thoughts, 
 more important than all other plans, was the 
 thought and the planning to bring the millions of 
 Japan to Christ. This was fundamental to his 
 whole plan for a Christian College and University. 
 When compelled to rest in the United States, or 
 in Ikao, or in Oiso during the last weeks of his life, 
 he never could rest from thinking, planning, writ- 
 ing and praying over the great problem of the 
 speedy evangelisation of Japan. 
 
 When the writer visited him for an hour in 
 Ikao, where he rested in great weakness during 
 the summer of 1888, he was no sooner seated than 
 Dr. Neesima said, " I have someting I want to 
 show you," and he went to the adjoining room 
 and brought out a map, of the province of Joshu, 
 and on it he had marked every place where there 
 was a church, every place where the gospel was 
 
170 Meditations, Chai-actcr, Lessons. 
 
 regularly preached, and other places for which he 
 was praying and planning to secure evangelists. 
 He had no greater sorrow during the closing years 
 of his life than that which came from the fewness 
 of those from among the graduates of the Colle- 
 giate department of the Doshisha who prepared 
 themselves to preach the gospel directly. He was 
 often ready to weep over it as he spoke of it, and 
 he wept as he prayed over it. 
 
 He begins his round-the-world diary in 1885 in 
 the following words, " April 6th ; Went on board 
 the Khiva at Kobe, accompanied by my wife and 
 other friends. I separated from my wife with 
 prayer, committing her to the care of my Father 
 in heaven, upon whom she can rely far better 
 than upon myself." "April 7th, Monday, Prayer 
 for Theological Students." " April 8th, Came to 
 Nagasaki, 6-30, A. M. ; Pray for fifth year ; " and 
 so on, day after day, we read, " Pray for vernacular 
 class," " Pray for theological class." He carried 
 this intense desire for workers to be raised up to 
 reap the waiting fields of Japan around the world 
 with him, and presented this object in earnest 
 prayer to God every day. 
 
 He always let his Christianity be known ; as 
 has been mentioned on previous pages, his first 
 
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Meditations, Character, Lessons* 171 
 
 work when he reached his native land was to 
 preach the gospel to the people in his old province 
 of Joshu ; he did it so earnestly that the Governor 
 of the province was alarmed and made a journey 
 to Tokyo to inquire about it ; so earnestly, that 
 it has brought forth an abundant harvest. His 
 first work when he came to Kyoto, in 1875, was 
 to start a religious service in his house on the 
 sabbath where he preached Christ to a little 
 company of men and women. The facts of the 
 organisation of one of the first churches in Kyoto 
 in Dr. Neesima's house and that its services 
 continued to be held in his house, have already 
 been mentioned. Dr. Neesima was always and 
 everywhere known as an earnest christian ; the 
 impression of him among his countrymen was 
 well voiced by the Buddhist priest of a temple in 
 the eastern part of the city where the body of Dr. 
 Neesima's father was buried, who, when asked for 
 permission to bury Dr. Neesima's body there, 
 objected, saying that Dr. Neesima was the head 
 of Christianity in Japan, and it would not do for 
 his body to be buried there ; or by the words of a 
 high official who remarked, when Dr. Neesima 
 had persisted in holding firmly to his Christian 
 principles, "well, you are a slave of Jesus Christ, 
 
172 Meditations, Qiaraeter, Lessons. 
 
 are you not? " 
 
 What then, are the lessons of this life to us 
 who remain? 
 
 i . Let us realise that God still moves in a mys- 
 terious way his wonders to perform in the world. 
 The age of miracles of physical healing may be 
 past, but we have before us the fulfilment at the 
 present day in the world of the Savior's promise, 
 " Greater works than these shall he do, because I 
 go to my Father." The wonderful calling of Dr. 
 Neesima twenty six years ago ; his preparation ; the 
 bringing of Capt. Janes to Japan and the train- 
 ing of the band of men who should be as- 
 sociated with Dr. Neesima to make his school and 
 his work a success ; the bringing to this land of 
 the missionaries who should be associated with 
 him in that work ; the planting of the school in 
 Kyoto, in the midst of the great prejudice and 
 opposition, and its success as it stands before the 
 world to-day, is as great a miracle as is recorded in 
 the Old Testament or the New, if we except the 
 miracle of our Savior's incarnation and atoning 
 work. It is simply inconceivable that all these 
 improbable things should happen, and that they 
 should come together at just the right time, simply 
 by chance. 
 
Meditations, Character , Lessons. 173 
 
 2. Let us all grasp the fact of the greatness of 
 the work which God used our brother to begin. 
 When God called Abraham out of his father's 
 land and home to go into a strange land, he had a 
 great purpose and work to accomplish through 
 him. God does not work such wonderful deeds 
 as this sketch contains without having a great 
 plan and purpose to accomplish through them. 
 We can see already that the Doshisha is changing 
 the history of Japan, and if the plan of our 
 brother can be carried out, this school will be one 
 of the greatest factors in the civilisation and 
 Christianisation of Japan. But if this is to be the 
 result, then all the friends of the school, foreign 
 and Japanese, must realise the greatness of the 
 sacred trust which they have inherited from its 
 beloved President, and with a similar love and 
 faith and hope and patience they must hold the 
 school true to the great purpose of its founder, not 
 education for its own sake, but education for the 
 sake of God's glory and the salvation of men. 
 
 3. We may learn that self-denial for Christ is the 
 greatest gain for self ; that he " who would be 
 great must be a servant, and that he who would 
 be first, must be servant of all." God takes care 
 of the man who is loyal to him, loyal to his own 
 
174 Meditations, Character, Lsssons. ' 
 
 conscience, loyal to. duty, loyal to right. The 
 happiness and final success and glory of that man 
 follows of necessity, because it is a part of the 
 eternal nature of things, and because God will 
 sooner or later put his approving smile upon that 
 man and up'on his work. Dr. Neesima's name will 
 be remembered on earth long after the names of 
 many so-called heroes are forgotten, and his place 
 in heaven will be above that of every man who 
 has sought his own glory. 
 
 4. Let us remember that just as Dr. Neesima's- 
 life was a plan of God, so every man's life may be a 
 plan of God. If we will but put ourselves in 
 God's hands to be led and used by him and work 
 with God and let God work with us, we shall work 
 in harmony with God, we shall work with God, 
 and our power and ability will be multiplied by 
 an infinite Factor, so that God only can measure, 
 and eternity alone can reveal, the results of our 
 life-work. " The good man does better than he 
 knows ! " 
 
 " Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord." 
 Dr. Neesima rests from his labors, and his works 
 follow him. 
 
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