He met Shozo MAKINO, a theater owner who was one year younger than him, around the time the Ichikawa troupe started to hold regular performances at the Senbonza Theater in Kyoto.
同一座が京都「千本座」を常打ち小屋としたときに、当時同劇場の経営者だった1歳下の牧野省三と出逢う。