During this time period, the geisha were considered the epitome of beauty. They were considered the most beautiful, most fashionable, and were admired by many. By the early 1900's there were nearly 25,000 geisha in Japan. By 1920, the beginning of the new modern era, the Jazz Age had arrived and Japan was eager for Western styles.That is when the development of the "cafe girl" ( girls who accompanied men to cafes) started to pose a threat to geishas. Luckily for the geishas, the Jazz era did not last for a very long time. In 1926, Emperor Hirohito worshipped the geisha as a symbol of the nation with nearly 80,000 geisha in existence. Gion, Japan became the most famous geisha district. The geisha were deemed "perfection personified." In the 1930's many people were generous to the geisha and allowed them to live a very lavish lifestyle. The demand for geishas were so high that people began  selling their children at ages seven or eight into geishahood. This is when Mizuyagi, the selling of a geisha's virginity to the highest bidder, emerged. At this point the geisha could not marry and their only way out was if they were bought to be someone's mistress.