When he became acquainted with Nakasu MISHIMA, who's dissertated theory of the union of morality and economy and was a disciple of Hokoku YAMADA, who was a scholar of Yomeigaku neo-Confucianism and reformed domain duties in Bicchu-matsuyama Domain in the same visions as Eichi at the end of the Edo period, they identified each other and Eichi started to be closely related with MISHIMA.
また、幕末に栄一と同じ観点から備中松山藩の藩政改革にあたった陽明学者山田方谷の門人で「義利合一論」（義＝倫理・利＝利益）を論じた三島中洲と知り合うと、両者は意気投合して栄一は三島と深く交わるようになる。