However, his father was punished for negligence of duty by being removed from the position of superintendent officer of the district and placed under house arrest which forced the family into poverty and meant that Shinpei could proceed to tertiary education, so instead he studied at the private school of Shinyo EDAYOSHI, a scholar of Confucianism and ancient Japanese literature and culture, where he was influenced by Shinto and the principle of reverence for the Emperor.
しかし、父が職務怠慢の咎により郡目付役を解職永蟄居の処分となったため生活は困窮し外生課程に進学せずに弘道館教授で儒学・国学者であった枝吉神陽の私塾に学び、神道や尊皇思想に影響される。