Hanayagi is depicted here as Taki no Shiraito (The Waterfall's White Thread), an itinerant female entertainer in Izumi Kyoka's play and film, Giketsu kyoketsu.

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A 'new school' or shimpa, a term coined in 1897, the Shinsei Shimpa, was formed around Hanayagi Shōtarō in 1939 and had a good beginning. "The Miyako Shinbun, a newspaper with an authoritative voice in theatre matters, singled out this company as having mounted all but one of the most memorable productions in 1940, and Hanayagi was praised extravagantly for several performances in 1941." It was a very profitable school.