This resulted in him leaving the priesthood of Shinshu sect Otani school he belonged to (exclaustration) for a while; he interacted with people from various fields including Bunyu NANJO from the same faction, Enryo INOUE, Manshi KIYOZAWA, and consistently strived to improve and maintain the research of modern Buddhism and educational system.
このため一時、所属する真宗大谷派の僧籍を離れる（還俗）ことがあったが、同派出身の南条文雄・井上円了・清沢満之らをはじめ幅広い分野の人々と交流、終始一貫、近代的な仏教研究と教育体制の充実・整備に力を注いだ。