eir theological teaching of the principles of the Jo[u]do[u] sect.
Conspicuous among these were the Tenjingatani and the Mushigatani,
seminaries widely sought for the erudition of the professors. In all
nearly three thousand students attended the halls, with an eye to an
ecclesiastical future.

On the dawn of a cold winter morning a priestly clad man, a _shoke_ or
one of the lowest clerical order, mainly notable for the vastness and
robustness of his proportions, could have been seen leaving the gate of
the Tokucho[u]-in. His size alone would have attracted attention, for
the mouse coloured _kimono_, the white leggings and mitts (_tekko[u]_),
the double soled _waraji_ (sandals) fastened on a pair of big feet, were
usual travelling equipment of his kind, made sure by the close woven
_ajiro_ or mushroom hat covering his head; admirable shelter against
heat in summer, and a canopy--umbrella like--against falling snow in
winter. By somewhat devious route he strode along a narrow lane, crossed
the Gokurakubashi and halted before the Chu[u]mon on the broad avenue
leading up to the temple. A glance thither satisfied him for a
leave-taking, which yet displayed some sentiment. A few moments carried
him without the entrance gate, and but few more saw him crossing
Kanesujibashi, evidently on some long tramp, if the steady swing of a
practised walker, in no haste and conserving his strength, is any test.

The road in those days passed through a long succession of village
houses, the _cho[u]_ of Shiba village, broken very occasionally by a
_yashiki_ wall. It was not until he reached the barrier at Takanawa,
Kurumacho[u], that he came full out on the bay just lighting up with the
coming day--a beautiful stretch of water, now spoiled by the ugliness of
the railway and the filling in which has turned the haunt of thousands
of wild fowl into a prairie, soon to be covered by hideous factories and
other sites of man's superfluous toil. Close by the little saddle at
Shinagawa, now a railway cutting, a stream came into the bay from the
west. On the bridge the priest Dentatsu stopped for a moment.
Throughout, from the time of leaving Kanesujibashi, he had had a feeling
of being followed. Now he determined to get a good look at his pursuer,
it was not particularly satisfying. "Iya! An ill looking chap--with an
eye like a knife." The object of these remarks had halted with him, at
the further side of the bridge. He was contemplating the water