.372 
THE VOYAGE OF THE VEGA. 
[chap. 
Kioto competes with Osaka for the honour of having the 
prettiest dancing-girls. These form a distinct class of young 
girls, marked hy a peculiar variegated dress. They wear besides 
a peculiar hair-ornament, are much painted, and have their lips 
coloured black and gold. At the dancing places of greatest note 
a European is not received, unless he has with him a known 
native who answers for his courteous behaviour. After taking 
off his shoes on entering, the visitor is introduced to a separate 
room with its floor covered with matting and its walls orna¬ 
mented with Japanese drawings and mottoes, but without 
other furniture. A small square cushion is given to each of the 
guests. After they have settled themselves in Japanese fashion, 
that is to say, squatting cross-legged, pipes and tea are brought 
in, on which a whole crowd of young girls come in and, chatting 
pleasantly, settle themselves around the guests, observing all the 
while complete decency even according to the most exacting 
European ideas. There is not to be seen here any trace of the 
effrontery and coarseness which are generally to be found in 
similar places in Euro]3e. One would almost believe that he 
was among a crowd of school-girls who had given the sour moral 
lessons of their governess the slip, and were thinking of nothing 
else than innocently gossiping away some hours. After a while 
the dance begins, accompanied by very monotonous music and 
singing. The slow movements of the legs and arms of the 
dancers remind us of certain slow and demure scenes from 
European ballets. There is nothing indecent in this dance, 
but we learn that there are other dances wilder and less 
decorous. 
The dancing-girls are recruited exclusively from the poorer 
classes; pretty young girls, to help their parents or to earn some 
styvers for themselves, selling themselves for a certain time to 
the owners of the dancing-places, and when the time agreed 
upon has come to an end returning to their homes, where not¬ 
withstanding this they marry without difficulty. All the 
t 
