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Zeami Motokiyo

Type Figure Region Japan Time 1363–1443 Also known as Son of Kan'ami

A Noh (sarugaku) actor, playwright, and theorist of Japan's Muromachi period and son of Kan'ami, he inherited and transformed Noh under the patronage…

Timeline

  1. 1384–1400Kyoto · KyotoAfter his father Kan'ami's death he led the Kanze school of sarugaku, performing before the shogunate and temples under Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's patronage, elevating Noh from popular entertainment to refined warrior-class art and beginning to systematize performance conventions.
  2. 1401–1410Kyoto · KyotoAt the height of Yoshimitsu's Kitayama culture, Zeami frequently performed before the shogunate and nobility, composed numerous yōkyoku, and began writing theoretical works such as Fūshikaden, expounding core Noh aesthetic concepts like 'hana' (flower) and 'yūgen'.
  3. 1411–1443Various places in Japan · JapanAfter Yoshimitsu's death his relations with Shogun Yoshinori deteriorated; he was exiled to Sado in 1434, during which he completed works such as Kagami; though later pardoned he never regained his former standing, dying in 1443, leaving over fifty plays and several Noh treatises that influenced the Kanze school for centuries.

Sources