Ichikawa Danjūrō I

Who was Ichikawa Danjūrō I?

Ichikawa Danjūrō I was an early kabuki actor in Japan. He remains today one of the most famous of all kabuki actors and is considered one of the most influential. His many influences include the pioneering of the aragoto style of acting which came to be largely associated with Edo kabuki and with Danjūrō and his successors in the Ichikawa Danjūrō line.

Like many actors, Danjūrō also dabbled in playwriting, which he did under the haimyō Mimasuya Hyōgo. "Mimasu" is the name for the mon of the Ichikawa family; many actors in the Danjūrō line have since used "Mimasu" or "Sansho", an alternate reading of the same characters, as their haimyō.