in 1903, he gtook the name Ichikawa Komazō VIII. This particular name had been used by several actors of both Ichikawa Danjuro and Matsumoto Koshiro's clans and receiving it was an honour. He took part in the 1911 opening ceremonies of the Imperial Theater, and took the name Matsumoto Kōshirō, one of the most prestigious roles in the Kabuki world which had not been used for over half a century, at a shūmei naming ceremony there a few months later. Along with the onnagata Onoe Baikō VI and wagotoshi Sawamura Sōjūrō VII, Kōshirō became one of the troupe's leading actors. He performed, often alongside these two compatriots, in productions in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, a rare feat for a Kabuki actor. This was in large part due to the differences between the Tokyo (Edo) and Kyoto-Osaka (Kamigata) styles of acting; few actors were particularly successful at performing in both regions. Two of his more common roles in this period, which he played in multiple cities, were those of Nikko Danjō in Meiboku Sendai Hagi and Benkei. Though a specialist in male roles, and in particular the aragoto warrior roles like Benkei, Kōshirō on occasion played women, such as Lady Yoshio in Meiboku Sendai Hagi. Continuing the trade of his adoptive father, Kōshirō became the head of the Fujima dance school in 1917, and took his father's name, becoming Fujima Kan'emon III; he would use this name when performing buyō traditional dance, but continued to be known as Kōshirō in the theatre world. Kōshirō continued to perform in all three major cities through World War II, and made his last stage appearance in December 1948, at the Shinbashi Enbujō in Tokyo. Family and legacy Koshiro had three sons and a daughter. His sons would then become respectively Ichikawa Danjuro XI, Matsumoto Hakuo I (known once as Koshiro VIII) and Onoe Shoroku II. He passed Danjuro IX's knowledge and teaching techniques to them. They became without any doubts the best tachiyaku (male role specialists) of the first and early second half of the 20th century. His daughter married the onnagata actor Nakamura Jakuemon IV. He was also the father-in-law of Nakamura Kichiemon I's daughter. His grandsons became the most famous actors of the second half of the 20th century and still perform alongside his great-grandsons. Today he has blood relatives in many other Kabuki clans, such as Onoe Kikugoro, Danjuro and indirectly