84

V. OLD AGE 119

VI. COURT LIFE 138

VII. LIFE IN CASTLE AND YASHIKI 169

VIII. SAMURAI WOMEN 196

IX. PEASANT WOMEN 228

X. LIFE IN THE CITIES 262

XI. DOMESTIC SERVICE 299

XII. WITHIN THE HOME 327

XIII. TEN YEARS OF PROGRESS 371

APPENDIX 423

INDEX 473

PREFACE TO REVISED EDITION.

In offering a revised edition of a book which has been before the public
for more than ten years, there is little to say that has not been said
in the original Preface. The work as published before, however, was
always, to its author's mind, unfinished, for the reason that a chapter
on household customs, which was necessary for the completion of the
plan, had to be omitted because it could not be written in America.

This defect has now been remedied, and the chapter "Within the Home"
contains the supplementary matter necessary to complete the picture of a
Japanese woman's life. In addition to this a thorough revision has been
made of the whole book, and the subjects discussed in each chapter have
been brought up to date by means of notes in an Appendix. The reader
will find these notes referred to by asterisks in the text.

Finally, a second supplementary chapter has been added, in which an
effort has been made to analyze present conditions. From its nature,
this chapter is only a rapid survey of the progress of ten years. It is
not easy to write with judgment of conditions actually present. A little
perspective is necessary to make sure that one sees things in their
proper proportions. It is therefore with some hesitation that I offer to
the public the result of two years' experience of the present state of
affairs. If subsequent events show that my observation has been
incorrect, I can only say that what I have written has been the
"Thing-as-I-see-It," and does not lay claim to being the
"Thing-as-It-is."

In closing, I would thank once more the friends whose names appear in
the previous Preface, and would add to their number the names of Mr. H.
Sakurai and Mr. and Mrs. Seijiro Saito, who have rendered me valuable
aid in gathering material.

A. M. B.

NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT,
_November, 1902_.

PREFACE TO FIRS