WOMEN UNDER POLYGAMY
acteristics of the West. The geisha is ostensibly a dancing girl. She goes to a dancing school at an early age, and is trained as an artist. When proficient she performs in a tea-house. Part of her duty is to wait upon customers, and to make herself attractive and agreeable to them.
English friends have told me that the geishas are in no sense regarded as pariahs, and that they are often sought as wives. But Mr. Douglas Sladen states that the courtesan is usually shunned by young men who seek partners for life. There is, however, far less ignominy attached to this occupation in Japan than in England or America. This may be partly due to the fact that the geisha is highly intelligent, always sober, thrifty, and more self-respecting than the courtesans of Western lands.
The traffic is licensed in Japan, and it thrives in the towns frequented by foreigners. A considerable number of the girls only follow the calling for a few years. They often save money, and eventually marry and settle down to a staid domestic life.
Letourneau says[1] that:—"In Japan the parents willingly hire out their daughters, either to private individuals or to houses of prostitution for a period of several years, and the girls are in no way dishonoured
- ↑ Op. cit.
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