Geisha can be considered a very distinctive cultural feature of Japan. However, if we're talking about ancient traditions, it's not exactly all that old. The geisha industry, originating from the Warring States period, has only a history of a few hundred years.
But the geisha culture, which started as entertainment for nobles and high-ranking officials and has now become a form of cultural industry, indeed possesses its unique charm.
A geisha is not the same as a courtesan or a prostitute; this is fundamentally different from Yoshiwara.
Although it's not unheard of for geisha to develop personal relationships with their clients, during the Meiji Restoration era, figures such as Okubo Toshimichi and Hirobumi Ito married geisha. Their wives, taking advantage of the geisha's unique ability to interact with a wide range of people, contributed significantly to the reform efforts of that time. However, such matters were never truly the primary duties of a geisha.
