by President Mori Taiichiro
Cobleigh Seminary, the forerunner of Chinzei Gakuin, was founded inNagasakiin October 1881 by Carroll Summerfield (C. S.) Long, a missionary of the Methodist Episcopal Church, located in theU.S.In Japanese, it was referred to as Kaburi Eiwa Gakko (KaburiEnglish-JapaneseSchool). C. S. Long recruited students through ads in localNagasakinewspapers and sought to use English lectures as a quick way to teach English.
The courses began with a staff of two foreigners, one assistant instructor, and a Japanese instructor. There were evening classes five days a week, and the tuition for an evening class was two sen per night. [100 sen equaled 1 yen, which was worth about a dollar at that time.] For day students, a classical Chinese class was offered in addition to the English class. The class hours were from8:30 a.m.to12 p.m.and from1to3 p.m.Tuition was one yen for three months. The school also had a dormitory, with room and board set at three yen fifty sen per month.
Most of the advertisements were written under the name of Kaburi Gakko, C. S. Long, but other advertisements were attributed to Kaburifu Gakko, C. S. Long— names that were in accord with the spirit of the Meiji Era. In his diary in 1883, Long mentioned that 18 students gathered at the time the school opened. What does kaburi mean? The answer is found in his diary entry ofDecember 29, 1881. He wrote, “This school was built as a commemorative monument to my respected and beloved teacher.”
Before Long and his wife were sent to Japan, a farewell party was held at their alma mater, TennesseeWesleyanUniversity. On this occasion, Mollie V. Cobleigh, wife of Long’s teacher, Dr. Nelson E. Cobleigh, donated two dollars for Japanese young people. (Long thought that it would be too difficult for Japanese people to pronounce his teacher’s name, Cobleigh, so he apparently decided to transliterate the name as kaburi, which would be easier for the Japanese to pronounce.) This started donations from many people, and Long was able to establish a boys’ school inNagasaki with those donations. Another Methodist missionary named Elizabeth Russell had already established a school called Kwassui Girls’ School (literally, “Living Waters Girls’ School”) in Higashiyamate,Nagasaki, two years earlier. At any rate, Long decided to name the boys’ school after his respected teacher.
Some historical records about Dr. Nelson E. Cobleigh still exist. He was born in Tennesseein 1814, and graduated with highest honors from TennesseeWesleyanUniversityin 1843. He worked for nine years as a pastor in New England, but due to his wife’s health, decided to move to Illinois, where he became a professor at McKendreeCollege. A few years later, he became the president of this college. In addition, he also became chief editor of Zion’s Herald in 1863. In the same year, because of his own health condition, he decided to move to the South, where he became president of his alma mater,TennesseeWesleyanUniversity.
In 1872, Cobleigh became chief editor of the Methodist Advocate inAtlanta,Georgia. His university tenure was from 1863 to 1871, during which time C. S. Long became his student and received excellent training. The principles Long learned there gave him direction the rest of his life. As a pastor, Cobleigh not only gave inspiring sermons but also was well-known as a writer and an editor. He was a member of the General Conference of theMethodistChurch in 1864, 1868, and 1872. He died inAtlanta,Georgia in 1874.
There is no information available about the details of Mollie’s life, but her initial two-dollar donation became the foundation of the spirit Chinsei Gakuin inherited. In commemoration of this gift, ever since the school first opened,NagasakiWesleyanUniversityhas called its school festival the “Two-Dollar Festival.”
Incidentally, the school’s name, Kaburi Eiwa Gakko, was later changed to Chinzei Gakkan in 1889, and again changed to the present name, Chinzei Gakuin, in 1906. Chinzei Gakuin suffered from fires twice and moved from Higashiyamate to Takenokubo. In 1945, the school was hit by the atomic bomb. It was reconstructed inIsahayaCityin 1947, where it has continued for the past 65 years.
In response to the spirit of Mollie’s two-dollar donation,NagasakiWesleyanUniversityhas been active in promoting volunteer activities for young people to serve other young people around the world who are living in poverty or suffering from disease. (Tr. MI)
『Mollie・V・Cobleigh夫 人と2＄の 献金』
鎮西学院・長崎ウエスレヤン大学学長 森 泰一郎
鎮西学院は、1881年 （明治16年）10月 長崎の東山手に北米メソジスト教団の宣教師C・ S・ ロ ング夫妻によって創設されたカブリー・
外国人2名、助教1名 と日本人教師をスタッフとしており、週5日 の夜学も開講している。夜学の謝金は、毎夜2銭 だった。昼間部は、英語のほかにも漢文も教授しており、8時30
このような広告が功を 奏したのか、明治16年 に書かれたロング宣教師の日記には、開学の時に18名 の学生が集まったと書かれている。（鮫島盛隆「シー・エス・
ネルソン・E・ カブリー博士は、1814年 にテネシー州に生まれ、長じてテネシー・ウエスレヤン大学を18
1872年 には、ジョージア州アトランタのMethodist Advocateの編集長となった。ネルソン・
因みにカブリ英和学校 から鎮西学館へと校名変更したのは、1889年 （明治22年）、 現在の鎮西学院となったのは、1906年 （明治39年） のことであった。鎮西学院は、2度 の火災に遭い長崎市東山手から長崎市竹ノ久保へ移転したが、
1945年原爆に被災。1947年に長崎市近郊の諫早市 へ移転して65年 を経過した。