In Old Japan, as stated in a preceding chapter,[120] the constitution of the family was practically that of an empire, in which all other members thereof were subject to the despotic authority of the master. A Japanese woman was subject to the “three obediences”: as a maiden, to her father; as a wife, to her husband and his parents;[121] as a widow, to her oldest son, whether real or only adopted. A daughter might even be called upon, for the sake of her parents, to sacrifice her honor and enter a brothel; and she was still considered virtuous, because personal chastity was a lower virtue than filial piety. A Japanese, like a Grecian, wife was to her husband a faithful slave, “something better than his dog, a little dearer than his horse”; she was both a drudge and a plaything, to be cast aside as capriciously as a child throws away a toy. She must tamely submit to having concubines brought, perhaps, right into the house at the will of her lord; or she herself might, under slight and flimsy pretexts, be divorced and sent back to her parents. The following “seven reasons for divorce” were laid down by a celebrated Japanese moralist: disobedience to father-in-law or mother-in-law; barrenness; lewdness; jealousy; leprosy or any like foul disease; garrulousness and prattling; stealing. It is, therefore, a misnomer to speak of “Japanese homes” of the old _régime_, in the sense in which we use that little word “home” with all its depth and wealth of meaning and its associated thoughts of “love” and “sympathy.” Indeed, the word “home” cannot be perfectly translated into the Japanese language, and is generally transferred bodily with the pronunciation _homu_. And one of the far-reaching results of Christian mission work in Japan has been the introduction of the idea and the ideal of the Christian home. It should, however, be constantly kept in mind that in the most ancient times women were highly esteemed, and even “used to play an important part on the political stage.” In Shintō the central object of adoration is the sun, which is worshipped as a goddess. There have been seated on the imperial throne of Japan eight empresses, one of whom is famous for her martial valor and military exploits. It was when Buddhism became powerful that Hindoo and Chinese conceptions of woman’s position moulded public opinion and thus eventually changed the manners, customs, and laws of Japan so as to relegate woman to an abnormally inferior position. As only one striking example out of many possible illustrations of the relative positions of man and woman, we note that, in the case of the death of the husband, the law prescribed mourning garments for thirteen months and abstinence from impurity for fifty days; but, in the case of the death of the wife, mourning garments for three months and abstinence for twenty days were sufficient. Mr. Gubbins in the introduction to Part II. of his translation of the Civil Code, writes as follows:—