Kagawa learned English from these missionaries and converted to evangelical Protestant Christianity after taking a Bible class in his youth, which led to his being disowned by his remaining extended family. Kagawa studied at Tokyo Presbyterian College, and later enrolled in Kobe Theological Seminary. While studying there, Kagawa was troubled by the seminarians' concern for technicalities of doctrine. He believed that Christianity in action was the truth behind Christian doctrines. Impatiently, he would point to the parable of the Good Samaritan.Axling,William.Kagawa.Harper and Brothers Publishers. New York and London. 1946.Chapter 3. p 28-41 From 1914 to 1916 he studied at Princeton Theological Seminary. In addition to theology, through the university's curricular exchange program he also studied embryology, genetics, comparative anatomy, and paleontology while at Princeton.Anri Morimoto, "The Forgotten Prophet: Rediscovering Toyohiko Kagawa," The Princeton Seminary Bulletin, Vol. 28, No. 3 (2007), 303.
