LIFE AND LETTERS OF JOSEPH HARDY NEESIMA

234/372

218 MISSIONARY WORK IN JAPAN. Mr, Yamamoto had lost his connection with the city government by reason of his active interest in the Doshisha. Every difficulty connected with the school, difficulties of internal management, as well as those arising from outside opposition, was brought to Mr. N eesima for settlement. He stood between the stu­dents and the foreign teachers, between his immediate associates and the general mission, between the school and the authorities. He was actively engaged in mis­sionary work, and in addition to the cares insepara.ble from his connection with the Doshisha and Kyoto Home, were those growing out of the organization of native churches throughout the empire, and the for­mation of the Japanese Home Missionary Society, in the superintendence of whose work he took an active part for many years. In the summer of 1878 he took a brief vacation in a suburb of Kyoto, from which he wl'ites, August 16th:-" My wife sent me off from home to this quiet vil­lage, which is only six miles away, and much cooler than Kyoto. Trees are plenty. It is shady every­where. I came here three days ago and am now stay­ing in a temple. I have hired two large, airy rooms, using one for reading and another for sleeping. The temple is surrounded by a very wide piazza, a part of which I use for my kitchen. You may ask whether I have brought a cook with me. I answer, no. I em­ploy girls at home, but it would not do for me to bring a servant gi1·l to such a place when I am alone. I am a person of wondmful adaptability, and can be both cook and boy. Dried meats, eggs, sweet pota­toes, fruits, etc., are all provided. Now I have a chance to show forth my old skill which I practiced on

※このページを正しく表示するにはFlashPlayer10.2以上が必要です