Courtesans began adopting her style and making increasingly elaborate performances set to the music of the shamisen, a three-stringed lute-like instrument.
The original role of geisha was as an assistant to the Oiran, who were high-class courtesans, dressed in amazingly flashy kimono and wearing heavy hairstyles.
A surprising number were built at the behest of women, including princesses, courtesans and merchants' wives, who wished to attain immortality through the gift of water.