SANOGAWA ICHIMATSU I

Guilds: Yoshiya, Shinmanya

Existence: 1722 ~ 12th day of the 11th lunar month of 1762

Connections:

Disciples: Sanogawa Ichimatsu II, Sanogawa Shinkurô

Career:

1722~1733: born in a family of samurai in Fushimi (Yamashiro Province). He is adopted by Jinzô, a dekata working at the Minamigawa no Shibai in Kyôto. Later on, he becomes a disciple of the actor Sanogawa Mangiku.

11th lunar month of 1733: Ichimatsu plays a child role in the drama "Meotogura Kogane no Masugata", which is produced in Kyôto by Anegawa Chiyosaburô I.

11th lunar month of 1734: Ichimatsu plays at Miyako Mandayû's theater (Kyôto) in the kaomise drama "Tomi Yakata Kogane no Yaguruma", which is produced by Nakamura Tomijûrô I.

5th lunar month of 1735: first Kabuki adaptation of the puppet theater drama "Ashiya Dôman Ôuchi Kagami", which is produced by Nakamura Tomijûrô I in Kyôto at Miyako Mandayû's theater; Ichimatsu plays the role of Kuzu-no-Ha's child [casting].

11th lunar month of 1735: Ichimatsu plays the role of Takashima Inamaru in the kaomise drama "Bankoku Ôshimadai", which is staged at Miyako Mandayû's theater.

Summer of Fall 1736: first (partial) Kabuki adaptation of the drama "Wada Gassen Onna Maizuru", which is produced at Miyako Mandayû's theater by Nakamura Tomijûrô I and is entitled "Hangaku Mon Yaburi" ("The Destruction of the Gate by Hangaku" in English); it stars Sanogawa Mangiku (Hangaku) and Ichimatsu (Ichiwakamaru).

11th lunar month of 1737: Ichimatsu achieves a great success at Miyako Mandayû's theater by playing the role of Sanada Yoichi in the drama "Koatsumori Chishio no Kesa", which is produced by Iwai Hanshirô III.

11th lunar month of 1738: Ichimatsu plays in Kyôto a wakashugata role in the drama "Ichi no Tomi Hôrai Yakata", which is produced by Nakamura Tomijûrô I for the nadai Kameya Kumenojô.

1st lunar month of 1739: Ichimatsu plays in the same theater the role of the courtesan Oshima in the drama "Keisei Arashiyama".

11th lunar month of 1739: Ichimatsu becomes zamoto in Kyôto, working for the nadai Miyako Mandayû; he produced the drama "Muromachi-dono Chôhô Denki" with the following line-up: Ôtani Hiroji I (Ise no Saburô), Yamanaka Heijûrô I (Nikki Danjô), Onoe Kikugorô I (Enju) and Sawamura Otoemon I (Ôuchi Kamon).

2nd lunar month of 1741: first stay in Edo; Ichimatsu plays at the Nakamuraza the role of Kumenosuke in the drama "Kôya Shinjû". He starts a successful fashion with his obi pattern, which is still used nowadays and is called "Ichimatsu Moyô".

5th lunar month of 1741: Ichimatsu suddenly falls ill and has to rest for a few months.

11th lunar month of 1741: Ichimatsu performs at the Nakamuraza in the kaomise drama "En'ya Hangan Kokyô no Nishiki", which welcomes in Edo the actors Sanogawa Mangiku, Nakamura Shingorô I, Nakayama Shinkurô I and Nakamura Tomijûrô I.

1st lunar month of 1742: Ichimatsu plays at the Nakamuraza the roles of Sankichi and Tokihira in the drama "Musume Soga Gaijin Yashima".

5th lunar month of 1743: Ichimatsu plays at the Nakamuraza in the drama "Yamato Morokoshi Aishô Kagami".

7th lunar month of 1744: Ichimatsu goes back to Kamigata; he plays in Kyôto in the drama "Keisei Hyoku no Kabuto", which is produced by Nakamura Kumetarô I.

11th lunar month of 1744: second stay in Edo; Ichimatsu plays at the Nakamuraza the role of Wada Gorô in the kaomise drama "Kachô Taiheiki".

3rd lunar month of 1747: the drama "Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami" is performed for the first time in Edo, at the Ichimuraza; Ichimatsu plays the role of Umeômaru [casting].

11th lunar month of 1747: Ichimatsu plays at the Ichimuraza the role of Yorimasa in the kaomise drama "Shusse Momijigari".

11th lunar month of 1749: Ichimatsu plays at the Nakamuraza the role of Wakiya Gisuke in the kaomise drama "Onnô Taiheiki".

1st lunar month of 1753: Ichimatsu becomes wakaonnagata and plays at the Nakamuraza in the drama "Otoko Date Hatsugai Soga".

11th lunar month of 1754: Ichimatsu plays at the Moritaza the role of Ushiwakamaru in the kaomise drama "Kiichi Hôgen Shinan-guruma".

11th lunar month of 1762: Ichimatsu is about to perform at the Moritaza in the drama "Tôzai Tôzai Wagakuni no Umeyashiki" but he seriously falls ill and dies in a few days.

Comments:

Sanogawa Ichimatsu I was a talented and popular wakashugata and wakaonnagata actor, equally at home in sewamono or jidaimono dramas. Trained by Sanogawa Mangiku in Kamigata theaters, he definitively settled in Edo in the 11th lunar month of 1744, where he stayed and won fame for himself up to his death in the 11th lunar month of 1862.

Sanogawa Ichimatsu I's mon is the paulownia.

"What have come to be called Ichimatsu dolls were first produced in the Kanpô and Hôreki eras (1741 - 1764), the faces designed to resemble Sanogawa Ichimatsu, a Kabuki actor who was famous for his portrayal of young men. There may have been similar kinds of dolls before then, but those with the face of Ichimatsu became extremely popular, and eventually all dolls of this kind came to be called Ichimatsu dolls." (Yamada Tokubê in "The History of Japanese Dolls")

Sanogawa Ichimatsu I playing the role of Sankichi in the drama "Musume Soga Gaijin Yashima", which was staged in the 1st lunar month of 1742 at the Nakamuraza

Prints & Illustrations

Print made by Okumura Masanobu

Print made by Okumura Toshinobu

Print made by Torii Kiyoshige (1752~1755)

The Sanogawa Ichimatsu line of actors