While trying to modernize Kabuki by realistic acting and re-creating historical backgrounds authentically, he rearranged aragoto (Kabuki play featuring exaggerated posture, makeup, and costume) of the traditional Edo Kabuki, determined many patterns handed down to the present and contributed greatly to the upgrading of Kabuki from as an entertainment of common people to a refined art representing Japanese culture.
写実的な演技や史実に則した時代考証などで歌舞伎の近代化を図る一方、伝統的な江戸歌舞伎の荒事を整理して今日にまで伝わる多くの形を決定、歌舞伎を下世話な町人の娯楽から日本文化を代表する高尚な芸術の域にまで高めることに尽力した。