He was good at business and made a fortune for himself. There were in Yedo in those rough-and-ready times men called otokodate, or chivalrous men of the people, who did not fear the blustering two-sworded samurai, who too often attempted to intimidate the peaceful citizens. Danjuro’s father associated himself with these brave spirits, who were always ready to defend the helpless and to protect the interests of the middle and lower classes. Such was the father of the first Ichikawa Danjuro, the representative Yedo yakusha of the Genroku period. The exact date of the first Danjuro’s advent into the world is in question, some accounts say 1660, others 1648, but as the inaccuracy of dates in Japanese records is so frequent, it is not a matter to be greatly concerned about. His father’s friend acted as godfather and called the child Ebiso,—a name which has persisted in the family, and is given to the members when they are very young. The boy’s dwelling was in the vicinity of the Nakamura-za and Ichimura-za, that drew him irresistibly, just as the Tokyo urchin of to-day steals off to see the moving pictures whenever he has sufficient to pay the entrance fee. He must have made up his mind at an early age that he wanted to become an actor, for he appeared for the first time at the Nakamura-za, when he was 14 years of age. He took the stage name of Ichikawa Danjuro, and acted the rôle of Kintoki, the fabulously strong baby-hero of a Japanese fairy tale,—a red-faced, muscular baby, generally depicted with an axe over his shoulder. The new actor was an immediate success. Danjuro was responsible for a new mode of acting that astonished and delighted Yedo people,—the aragoto, or rough style. The Doll-theatre was the source of his inspiration. There were minstrels who recited the military exploits of Kimpira, a Hercules who slew demons and beasts. The minstrel, desiring to appeal to the fighting spirit of the Yedo people, beat his rhythms with a long iron rod, and sometimes wielded this weapon so wonderfully that he broke off the heads of the performing dolls or smashed the scenery in his exploitation of valour.