Danjūrō VIII performed for the first time in Sukeroku Yukari no Edo Zakura at the shūmei naming ceremony, and in the lead role in Shibaraku later that year.

After appearing in a number of minor roles for the next several years, Danjūrō plays Minamoto no Yoshitsune in the 1840 premiere of Kanjinchō at the Kawarazaki-za.

In 1844, he played Sukeroku for the first time, alongside Iwai Hanshirō VII, Matsumoto Kōshirō VI and Onoe Kikugorō IV.

Danjūrō continued to be quite active for the next ten years, playing a number of major roles including Narukami and Katō Masakiyo again, Benkei in Kanjinchō, and the young lover Yosaburō in the new Kirare Yosa by Segawa Jōkō III.

Some scholars surmise that he suffered from extensive debts as a result of the extravagant lifestyle he and his father led, and that his early successes and popularity attracted the envy or ire of other actors, worsening his relationships with them and complicating his personal problems.