ld, to the woman, and leave the disposal of the principal, as a
part of the outside business, to the care of the man. This system of
domestic finance seems not unlike the common practice in thrifty and
well-managed homes in America, and shows that a spirit of mutual
confidence between husband and wife belongs to Japan as to Western
nations. As the result of my own observation in a number of homes, I
should say that the judgment of the wife in money matters is quite as
much trusted in Japan as in America, and that, in this one respect at
least, her place in the home is as responsible a one as that of the
Western housekeeper. One instance may be cited of a woman whose business
ability is so well known as to have a national reputation. By birth a
member of a family which is remarkable for its success in all financial
undertakings, she has inherited a large share of the family
characteristic, and is credited with the personal management of a large
bank, as well as other successful business undertakings. Her husband's
name and not her own appears on the prospectuses and in the newspapers,
but unless report is very far astray, she is the business man of the
family, and her sound sense and good judgment have built up the fortune
which is their common possession.

In the educational system of Japan, schools for girls are provided by
the government, but no provision for studies more advanced than those of
the middle schools for boys is included in the scheme, with the single
exception of the Higher Normal School in T[=o]ky[=o], in which a limited
number of young women are trained to take positions as teachers in the
ordinary normal schools for girls. To quote from the Annual Report of
the Minister of Education for the year 1898, the latest to which I have
access, "Higher female schools are institutions designed to give
instruction in such higher subjects of general education as are
necessary for females." This shows with considerable completeness the
idea that dominates all government and much private effort for the
education of women in Japan. The schools are to teach simply such
subjects as are necessary for females; anything more would be
superfluous, possibly dangerous. The thought of women as individuals,
with minds and souls to be trained and developed to their highest
possibilities, is still somewhat foreign to the mind of the average
Japanese man. In its stead is the idea that females must be instructed
in such subjects