As a geisha she was, to be sure, already something of an actress, and she was already well-known in Japan since her virginity had been sold to no one less than Japan's great statesman Hirobumi Ito.
A man of the world, he knew how to do things properly. The tradition was for the "deflowerer" to spend some time each evening massaging his young charge's thighs with egg white. Each evening he would reach a bit further so that when the moment eventually arrived, it was not such a shock.
Though this method was a bit like cutting off the dog's tail by inches to spare it the pain, the successful operation gave the young geisha an instant eclat: She was now the mistress of the future prime minister.