The Way of the Gods

Popular novel, set in Japan, first published in 1906. According to Wikipedia: "John Luther Long (January 1, 1861 – October 31, 1927) was an American lawyer and writer best known for his short story "Madame Butterfly", which was based on the recollections of his sister, Jennie Correll, who had been to Japan with her husband—a Methodist missionary. The story of the tragic relationship between an American naval officer and a Nagasaki geisha was published in Century Magazine in 1898, together with some of Long's other short fiction."