at lay in her power. When the caravan was ready to start, we
found that, though each saddle-horse had a male groom in attendance, the
pack-ponies on which our baggage was carried were led by pretty little
country girls of twelve or fourteen, their bright black eyes and red
cheeks contrasting pleasantly with the blue handkerchiefs that adorned
their heads; their slender limbs encased in blue cotton, and only their
red sashes giving any hint of the fact that they belonged to the weaker
sex. As we journeyed up the rough mountain roads, the little girls kept
along easily with the rest of the party; leading their meek,
shock-headed beasts up the slippery log steps, and passing an occasional
greeting with some returning pack-train, in which the soft black eyes
and bits of red about the costume of the little grooms showed that they,
too, were mountain maidens, returning fresh and happy after a two days'
tramp through the rocky passes.

In the districts where the silkworm is raised, and the silk spun and
woven, the women play a most important part in this productive industry.
The care of the worms and of the cocoons falls entirely upon the women,
as well as the spinning of the silk and the weaving of the cloth. It is
almost safe to say that this largest and most productive industry of
Japan is in the hands of the women; and it is to their care and skill
that the silk product of the islands is due. In the silk districts one
finds the woman on terms of equality with the man, for she is an
important factor in the wealth-producing power of the family, and is
thus able to make herself felt as she cannot when her work is inferior
to that of the men. As a farmer, as a groom, or as a porter, a woman is
and must remain an inferior, but in the care of the silkworms, and all
the tasks that belong to silk culture, she is the equal of the stronger
sex.

Then, again, in the tea districts, the tea plantations are filled with
young girls and old women, their long sleeves held back by a band over
the shoulder, and a blue towel gracefully fastened over their heads to
keep off the sun and the dust. They pick busily away at the green,
tender leaves, which will soon be heated and rolled by strong men over
the charcoal fire. The occupation is an easy one, only requiring care in
the selection of leaves to be picked, and can be performed by young
girls and old women, who gather the glossy leaves in their big baskets,
while chatting to each other over