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 Danjà «rà  and his successors in the Ichikawa Danjà «rà  line.
Like many actors, Danjà «rà  also dabbled in playwriting, which he did under the haimyà  (poetry name) Mimasuya Hyà Âgo. "Mimasu" (ä¸ÂÃ¥ÂÂ) is the name for the mon of the Ichikawa family; many actors in the Danjà «rà  line have since used "Mimasu" or "Sansho", an alternate reading of the same characters, as their haimyà Â.
As the originator of the most celebrated and prestigious stage name in kabuki, there have been a great many descendants of Danjà «rà  I in the kabuki world, some of them quite famous and accomplished themselves. Danjà «rà Â's father, Horikoshi Juzà Â, was not involved in the theatre, but was an otokodate, something of a street ruffian, but nevertheless a man very much a part of Edo popular urban culture; though not in the theatre himself, he may have been a patron of various types of performances, as well as of the closely related sex industry.
The sons of Danjà «rà  I were known as Ichikawa Danjà «rà  II and Ichikawa Sen'ya. The fourth Danjà «rà  was his grandson; the fifth his great-grandson. His great-great-grandsons, as well as their sons and grandsons were kabuki actors of the Ichikawa family as well. Danjà «rà  I also had a great many disciples.
A devout follower of Fudà  Myà Âà Â, one of Japan's Thirteen Buddhas, Danjà «rà  was the first to perform as Fudà  onstage, and founded the actors' guild Naritaya, named after the Fudà  temple Narita Fudà Âson.
Born in Japan's capital of Edo in 1660, he first performed at the age of 13 at the Nakamura-za, under the name Ichikawa Ebizà Â. The first to take the name Ebizà Â, he was thus the founder or originator of this prestigious actor lineage as well. This 1673 performance of Shitennà  Ochigodachi, in which Ebizà  played Sakata Kintoki marks not only his first performance, but also the first use of red and black striped makeup, now called kumadori, and thus the nascent origins of the aragoto style.
Two years later, taking the name Danjà «rà Â, he performed in the first kabuki presentation based on the Tale of the Soga Brothers. The famous actor print seen here, though produced for a 1697 performance, depicts Danjà «rà  in the same role, that of Soga Gorà Â. Serving as playwright as well as actor, Danjà «rà  produced a number of works, several of which were early forms of plays extremely popular later in the Edo period and still performed today, though they have undergone great changes over the centuries. Two of these such plays are Narukami, written and premiered in 1684, and Shibaraku, in 1697.
The Genroku period marked the peak of Edo period extravagance and hedonism. Danjà «rà  was one of the most popular actors in Edo in this period, alongside Nakamura Shichisaburà  I and Nakamura Denkurà  I. The first aragoto performance in Kyoto was that of Genji Musha Homare no Seiriki in 1694; the following year, Danjà «rà  would be featured in the Edo hyà Âbanki, a popular publication ranking actors and performances, as jà Â-jà Â-kichi (ä¸Âã åÂÂ, higher-higher-excellent) and his annual salary would reach 500 ryà Â.
Over the course of his career, Danjà «rà  performed in, and wrote, a great number of plays. Unlike many later actors, he was not particularly faithful to any one theater, and moved back and forth between them many times. He also performed alongside his son, Ichikawa Kuzà Â, who would later take his father's name and become Ichikawa Danjà «rà  II. Danjà «rà  is said to have also been the first kabuki actor to write haiku and to take a poetry name (haimyà Â).
While performing at the Ichimura-za on 24 March 1704, Danjà «rà  was stabbed and killed in his dressing room (some accounts say "on stage") by fellow actor Ikushima Hanroku, who was either subsequently executed for this crime or died in prison under police interrogation.