During his youth, he studied the works of his predecessors and trained directly under the Meiji-period master Shikan NAKAMURA IV; in adulthood he possessed outstanding knowledge and buyo (Japanese traditional dance) skills, which he had cultivated through years of devotion and training.
若いころに先人たちの舞台を研究したり、明治の名人中村芝翫(4代目)に直接仕込まれたりしたこともあり、長年の精進と鍛錬に培われた舞踊の技術と知識はずば抜けていた。