Thus Kanazawa attained the form that it kept for the rest of the Edo period — even now the majority of roads in the old city are little changed in form from two centuries ago. The only major change was the creation of 'geisha districts' (hanamachi) at the foot of Utatsuyama and over the Sai River in 1820, to control and regulate pleasure houses and prostitutes (bath-girls: 湯女). However, conservative factions regained control of the Kaga government, and the geisha districts were abolished a decade later. The districts were made legal again just before the Meiji Restoration, and stayed that way until prostitution was officially outlawed in 1954. The geisha areas were out of bounds to samurai; they were patronised by rich merchants and artisans, who would compete with each other to spend the most money on parties.