Ayame traveled to Edo for the first time in 1690, and performed at the Morita-za and Nakamura-za for three years. He would return to Edo again, briefly, in November 1695, performing at the Yamamura-za under the stage name Yoshizawa Kikunojō. When in Kamigata (Kyoto and Osaka), however, he always went by Ayame. Upon his return from Edo the first time, in 1693, he performed for the first time alongside "tachiyaku" Sakata Tōjūrō I, in the premiere of "Butsumo Mayasan Kaichō" by famous playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon. Ayame and Tōjūrō would perform as partners countless times over the course of their careers.