"Prostitutes soliciting Japanese men from the doorways of bars. These women were older than the pan pan, and represented the first step into professional prostitution. Many of the pan pan girls played the game for only a year or so, until they found a better means of livelihood, which might include professional prostitution."

From: Bennett, John W. Doing Photography and Social Research in the Allied Occupation of Japan, 1948-1951: A Personal and Professional Memoir, 2002,
http://library.osu.edu/sites/rarebooks/japan/2_1_photos.html.