Guilds: Yoshiya, Shinmanya
Line number: SHODAI (I)
Existence: 1722 ~ 12 November 1762
Connections:
Master: Sanogawa Mangiku
Disciples: Sanogawa Ichimatsu II, Sanogawa Shinkurô, Sanogawa Nakagorô
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.
November 1733: Ichimatsu plays a child role in the drama "Meotogura Kogane no Masugata", which is produced in Kyôto by Anegawa Chiyosaburô.
November 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.
May 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].
November 1735: Ichimatsu plays the role of Takashima Inamaru in the kaomise drama "Bankoku Ôshimadai", which is staged at Miyako Mandayû's theater.
November 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.
November 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.
January 1739: Ichimatsu plays in the same theater the role of the courtesan Oshima in the drama "Keisei Arashiyama".
November 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 II (Nikki Danjô), Onoe Kikugorô I (Enju) and Sawamura Otoemon I (Ôuchi Kamon).
February 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".
May 1741: Ichimatsu suddenly falls ill and has to rest for a few months.
January 1742: Ichimatsu plays at the Nakamuraza the roles of Sankichi and Tokihira in the drama "Musume Soga Gaijin Yashima".
November 1741: Ichimatsu and his master Sanogawa Mangiku play together at the Nakamuraza in the kaomise drama "En'ya Hangan Kokyô no Nishiki".
May 1743: Ichimatsu plays at the Nakamuraza in the drama "Yamato Morokoshi Aishô Kagami".
July 1744: Ichimatsu goes back to Kamigata; he plays in Kyôto in the drama "Keisei Hyoku no Kabuto", which is produced by Nakamura Kumetarô I.
November 1744: second stay in Edo; Ichimatsu plays at the Nakamuraza the role of Wada Gorô in the kaomise drama "Kachô Taiheiki".
March 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].
November 1747: Ichimatsu plays at the Ichimuraza the role of Yorimasa in the kaomise drama "Shusse Momijigari".
November 1749: Ichimatsu plays at the Nakamuraza the role of Wakiya Gisuke in the kaomise drama "Onnô Taiheiki".
January 1753: Ichimatsu becomes wakaonnagata and plays at the Nakamuraza in the drama "Otoko Date Hatsugai Soga".
November 1754: Ichimatsu plays at the Moritaza the role of Ushiwakamaru in the kaomise drama "Kiichi Hôgen Shinan Guruma".
November 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 November 1744, where he stayed and won fame for himself up to his death in November 1862.
Sanogawa Ichimatsu I's mon is the paulownia.
"What have come to be called Ichimatsu dolls were first produced in the Kampô 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 Tokubei 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 January 1742 at the Nakamuraza
Sanogawa Ichimatsu I's illustrations