Two years later, taking the name Danjūrō, 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 Danjūrō in the same role, that of Soga Gorō. Serving as playwright as well as actor, Danjūrō 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.
