Kabuki actor. Born in Tokyo, the fifth son of Danjuro VII. Though adopted by the Kawarazaki family, he succeeded to the name of Danjuro IX in 1874. He devoted himself to theatrical improvement and advocated Katsureki-mono (Living history plays) that excluded the traditional silly plot. He presented such dramas on stage and also established the "new Kabuki Juhachiban (eighteen kabuki numbers)". While Ichikawa performed in a wide variety of plays, he was most expert at Jidai-mono (historical plays) and enjoyed enormous popularity as the leading personality in the field. He was called "Dankikusa", together with Kikugoro Onoe V and Sadanji Ichikawa I, who both performed around the same time. He is also famous for his contribution to enhancing the social status of actors.