He also wrote, however, that "If I gave up Kamigata in its present state, I would not have any excuse not only to the ancestors of the Kataoka family but also to my predecessors who had built up shibai (drama) in Kamigata up until now. By all means, I had to protect Kamigata Kabuki shibai." ("Yakusha nanajunen (literally, seventy years as an actor)" by Nizaemon KATAOKA; published by The Asahi Shimbun Company), and his heart-felt sorrow for kabuki and his thoughts for his ancestors instilled in him the tragic but brave thought that "If failed, I will die with kabuki."(ibid.).
だが「現在この有様上方を捨てては、片岡家の先祖は言うに及ばず、何代かかって上方の芝居をここまで築き上げてきた先輩たちにこれほど申し訳ないことはないではないか。何としても上方の灯は守らなければ。」（片岡仁左衛門著「役者七十年」1976年朝日新聞社）とあるように、切実な関西歌舞伎の愛惜と先祖への思いとが「それでも駄目なら歌舞伎と心中しよう。」（同上）という悲壮な決心に向かったのである。