Mouastery or Temple, due: not seem to be exactly the right sort of man to straighten things out. As a matter of fact he is a very immoral old gentleman, so immoral that even in Paris, when once there on a visit, he made himself so notorious as to excite the its of Prince Iwakura, Higashi Rokugo, his place of residence in Kioto, is commonly spoken of as fukumaden ov makutsu (the palace of sleeping demons, or she den of demons) in allusion to the orgies that go on there day and night, The wonderful thing about the Count is how his health stands it, but in fact he seems hardly human; he is more like an incredibly and indefatigably corrupt wid ecctesiastie taken bodily from the pages of Rabelais than like a Japanese of the 26h century. And ho has no fear of being deposed, for his office is hereditary the Otani heir succeeds to the post of Lord Abbot, no matter how great may be his physical or mental disqualifications. that the worthy Count cantiones his orgies and his revels without troubling his mind in the Jeast about the day of reckoning here or hereafter.
Abbot No. IL.
Now, to make the whole matter more and more like some wild Zolaesque story, the son ofthe old abbot happens to be an unimpeachable young man, a scholar with lofty ideals and a man, itis said, of pure life. He is also abbot, atid will of course succeed his father when that horrid old gentleman ends his career.
Meanwhile he has come to Tukio and set up a rival temple of his own, refusing all offers of his father to return to the head temple.
Reformers. said that there are among them men who In justice to the Butdhists it must be are disgusted with the conduct of Count Otani, and whose great dream is the reformation of the great Shin sect, and finally of all the Buddhist sects. These men have formed themselves into a new associa. tion called the Aizan Vu-hi-kai (Society of Lovers of the Temple), xnd this Society recently sent a deputation consisting of over 200 persons tu reason gently with the Lord Abbot on his moral shortcomings, The " Scholars' Section.
Another reform body in_ the same sect is known as the Scholars' Section." This is under the leadership of a Mr, Naujo, and it lays stress on the present rivalry between the Atsumi and Ishikawa sections of the sect. To explain that rivalry L need only refer your raders to a letter I gent you on this subject a few weeks ago.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.