Stage name:

Sanogawa Ichimatsu I

Guilds: Yoshiya, Shinman'ya

Line number: SHODAI (I)

Poetry name: Seifu

Existence: 1722 ~ 12th day of the 11th lunar month of 1762 ^[1]

Connections:

Master: Sanogawa Jûkichi I (Mangiku)

Disciples: Sanogawa Ichimatsu II, Sanogawa Shinkurô

Career:

1722~1733: born in a family of samurai in Fushimi (Yamashiro Province). He was adopted by Jinzô, a dekata working at the Minamigawa no Shibai in Kyôto. His first name was Jinnosuke. Later on, he became a disciple of the actor Sanogawa Mangiku, who gave him the name of Sanogawa Ichimatsu I.

11th lunar month of 1733: Ichimatsu performed as a koyaku in the kaomise drama "Meotogura Kogane no Masugata", which was produced in Kyôto by Anegawa Chiyosaburô I.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

11th lunar month of 1739: Ichimatsu became zamoto in Kyôto, working for the nadai Miyako Mandayû; he produced the kaomise 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 played at the Nakamuraza the role of Kumenosuke in the drama "Kôya Shinjû". He started a successful fashion with his obi pattern, which is still used nowadays and is called 'Ichimatsu Moyô'.

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

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

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

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

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

Fall 1744: Ichimatsu went for the second time to Edo.

11th lunar month of 1744: Ichimatsu played 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" was performed for the first time in Edo, at the Ichimuraza; Ichimatsu played the role of Umeômaru [casting].

19th day of the 7th lunar month of 1747 ^[2]: his master Sanogawa Jûkichi I died in Edo.

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

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

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

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

11th lunar month of 1762: Ichimatsu was about to perform at the Moritaza in the kaomise drama "Tôzai Tôzai Wagakuni no Umeyashiki" but he seriously fell ill.

12th day of the 11th lunar month of 1762 ^[1]: Ichimatsu died in Edo.

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 was 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")

[1] The 12th day of the 11th lunar month of the 12th year of the Hôreki era was the 26th of December 1762 in the western calendar.

[2] The 19th day of the 7th lunar month of the 4th year of the Enkyô era was the 24th of August 1747 in the western calendar.

The Actor Sanogawa Ichimatsu I performing the spear dance
Artist: Torii Kiyohiro
Date: 1751–1761
The Art Institute of Chicago (print in the public domain)

Prints & Illustrations

The Sanogawa Ichimatsu line of actors