It is to consider figuratively the successive Danjuro ICHIKAWA (during Danjuro's absence, it would be one of the family heads of soke, Ebizo ICHIKAWA, Shinnosuke ICHIKAWA, or Sansho ICHIKAWA) as the soke of kabuki, on the respect of being a special actor who represents kabuki, and especially as the founder and successor of their "oiegei" (the specialty of a family or a school of the performing arts), "aragoto" (dynamic performance of kabuki, featuring exaggerated posture, makeup, and costume) (Refer to 'Ichikawa-ryu').
代々の市川團十郎（團十郎が不在のときは宗家当主の海老蔵・新之助・三升のいずれか）が歌舞伎を代表する特別な役者であり、特にそのお家芸である荒事の創始者・継承者であることを尊重して、比喩的にこれを歌舞伎の宗家とみなすこと→「市川流」を参照。