674 THE JAPANESE NATION. 



Instead of clubs, the Japanese frequent tea houses, where dancing 

 girls and musicians, called " gaishas," are found, for relaxation, social 

 intercourse, and amusement. These girls, associating with men and 

 taught to interest and amuse them, become to a certain extent edu- 

 cated, acquire conversational ability, and often have more influence 

 over the man than has the wife. That the development of a nation 

 depends as much on the women as on the men is a principle not yet 

 appreciated in Asia, and its recognition is one of the great blessings 

 that Japan will acquire from Europe. 



JAPANESE DRESS. 



A few years ago many Japanese substituted the European dress for 

 the oriental as an evidence of civilization, but they soon realized that 

 it was unsuited to Japanese life and that its adoption would lead to 

 the introduction of Western domestic customs and the abandonment 

 of their ancestral habits; a reaction followed, and they generally decided 

 to retain their own dress. In the army, navy, police, and in business 

 houses fashioned on foreign models, the European dress has been 

 adopted as most convenient. Although required in court circles, some 

 officials who are compelled to wear the European dress take it off as 

 soon as they return home. One very wealthy nobleman occupies a 

 double house — one half his Japanese home, in which he lives; the other 

 half furnished in the French style, where he receives foreign visitors 

 and officers of the court. The kimono, a long dress open in front, fas- 

 tened around the waist by a girdle, is the principal garment of both 

 sexes, and is better fitted for sedentary than active life. 



If Japanese women take the position that women hold with us, they 

 must change their dress to suit their new occupations. This will re- 

 quire them to 'give up their quiet life and live among men, and not, 

 as now, at home. We trust they will retain their exquisite taste in the 

 beautiful designs and colors of their silk and cotton textures even if 

 they change the fashion of their dress. 



BUILDINGS. 



The Japanese houses usually receive light and air not from the street, 

 but from small courts or gardens in the rear. The entire side of the 

 house on the garden is movable, so that the interior can be thrown open 

 to the day and sun light. The houses generally have overhanging roofs, 

 which are either shingled, tiled, or thatched. The floor is raised from 18 

 inches to 2 feet above the ground, and the space 'between the floor and 

 ground is generally left open for the air to blow through. The houses 

 are usually small and low, from to 8 feet in height; the partitions are 

 wooden panels 3 feet wide, sliding in groovas in the floor and ceiling, and 

 covered with paper. Neither paint, varnish, oil, nor finish is used about 

 the house. Instead of windows they have screens covered with thin 

 white x>aper, protected on the outside by sliding shutters. As the people 



