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CHAPTER THREE The Koishikawa Band When McDonald went to Shizuoka, George Cochran began teaching outside the confines of the treaty ports in Koishikawa ward in Tokyo. His post was at the Dojinsha school, a private school run by Nakamura Keiii who had previously taught at the Gakumonjo in Shizuoka during E. W. Clark's tenure. Thus the connections between the Dojinsha and Shizuoka were strong. The Dojinsha school catered to the needs of the Tokugawa constituency, who had remained in Tokyo after 1868 or, like Nakamura himself, had migrated back to Tokyo from Shizuoka in the early 1870s. Nakamura was one of the leading exponents of the need to accept Christianity in order to underpin japan's civilization, which placed him and his school in the midst of the intellectual debate about the nature of what Japanese civilization should be. Just as McDonald brought to Shizuoka medical and teaching skills which facilitated his evangelistic work, Cochran too possessed special capabilities well suited to the intellectual climate in which he found himself in Tokyo. The missionary had to be a composite and rounded figure, for the Christian message alone was not sufficient to convince many Japanese to convert. Cochran's particular strengths were his deep intellectual knowledge of Christianity, his standing within the Western missionary community in Japan, and perhaps the warmth of his personality. He was a man of dignity and wisdom, attributes which might not have been of particular use in the circumstances of provincial Shizuoka but which were of considerable value in the atmosphere of the Dojinsha school and in dealing with Nakamura, a major intellectual figure in early Meiji Japan. Through Nakamura's efforts, the Christian influence was already strong at the Dojinsha school when Cochran arrived. Nakamura's presence, advice, and activity led to an open commitment to Christianity by the Japanese who surrounded him at the school. Because Notes for Chapter Three are found on pp. 230-32. 51 52 THE CROSS AND THE RISING SUN Cochran stressed spirituality rather than the material benefits ofChristianity , the growth of the Koishikawa Band had within it seeds of disappointment for him. The initial attraction of Christianity for Nakamura and the other converts was related to the question of evolving theories of Japanese civilization; they stressed the practical and pragmatic benefits that Christianity could offer society and Japanese civilization. Their Confucian background led them to look at the ethical side of Christianity; becoming Christians, they possibly saw the admixture of Confucianism and Christianity as a uniquely Japanese amalgam. Immediately, however, Christianity offered a panacea for the difficulties that confronted Japanese society. Between missionary and convert, there was a gap in perception about what was important in Christianity. Whether or not Cochran was aware of this conceptual gap, he made no real effort at the Dojinsha school to dissuade his converts from believing that Christianity would solve the problems ofJapanese civilization. Despite this, his role in the formation of the Koishikawa Band should not be exaggerated. He was an essential participant and performed a role that few other missionaries in Japan could have fulfilled so well. The development of the Band came from the Japanese; Cochran acted only as a catalyst. The crucial factor in the formation of the Koishikawa Band was Nakamura's presence and influence at the Dojinsha school. FROM YOKOHAMA TO KOISHIKAWA Cochran's Christian group at the Dojinsha school belonged to the same group of individuals who made up the core of the Shizuoka Band. When the Gakumonjo in Shizuoka collapsed they moved on to seek new opportunities in Tokyo. Added to this core were some of E. W. Clark's students at the Kaisei Gakko, the government college where Clark had begun to teach in 1873. Once his students had expressed an interest in Christianity, Clark directed them to Cochran's Bible class. Clark was an inspiring teacher when it came to science but disappointing when it came to explaining Christianity, at least to the precocious students of the Kaisei Gakko, the premier Western-studies institution inJ apan.1 Clark may have allowed his youthful fervour for Christianity to get the better of his lecturing technique. The mature, dignified, and erudite Cochran had no such difficulty. Like McDonald, he was an imposing figure and instantly garnered respect. It was Clark who introduced Cochran to Nakamura Keiii, his personal friend and colleague from Gakumonjo days in Shizuoka. The two friends had travelled down from Tokyo to Yokohama for a visit in January 1874 and had...

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