thoroughly in all the arts and accomplishments that
please,--witty, quick at repartee, pretty, and always well dressed,--the
geisha has proved a formidable rival for the demure, quiet maiden of
good family, who can only give her husband an unsullied name, silent
obedience, and faithful service all her life. The freedom of the present
age, as shown in the chapter on "Marriage and Divorce," and as seen in
the choice of such wives, has presented this great problem to the
thinking women of Japan. If the wives of the leaders in Japan are to
come from among such a class of women, something must be done, and done
quickly, for the sake of the future of Japan; either to raise the
standards of the men in regard to women, or to change the old system of
education for girls. A liberal education, and more freedom in early life
for women, has been suggested, and is now being tried, but the problem
of the geisha and her fascination is a deep one in Japan.

Below the geisha in respectability stands the j[=o]r[=o], or licensed
prostitute. Every city in Japan has its disreputable quarter, where the
various _j[=o]r[=o]ya_, or licensed houses of prostitution, are
situated. The supervision that the government exercises over these
places is extremely rigid; the effort is made, by licensing and
regulating them, to minimize the evils that must flow from them. The
proprietors of the _j[=o]r[=o]ya_ do everything in their power to make
their houses, grounds, and employees attractive, and, to the
unsuspecting foreigner, this portion of the city seems often the
pleasantest and most respectable. A j[=o]r[=o] need never be taken for a
respectable woman, for her dress is distinctive, and a stay of a short
time in Japan is long enough to teach even the most obtuse that the
_obi_, or sash, tied in front instead of behind, is one of the badges of
shame. But though the occupation of the j[=o]r[=o] is altogether
disreputable,--though the prostitute quarter is the spot to which the
police turn for information in regard to criminals and law-breakers, a
sort of a trap into which, sooner or later, the offender against the law
is sure to fall,--Japanese public opinion, though recognizing the evil
as a great one, does not look upon the professional prostitute with the
loathing which she inspires in Christian countries. The reason for this
lies, not solely in the lower moral standards although it is true that
sins of this character are regarded much more leniently