Zeami Motokiyo
His father, Kan'ami Kiyotsugu, introduced him to Noh theater performance at a young age, and found that he was a skilled actor.
As it grew in popularity, Zeami had the opportunity to perform in front of the Shōgun, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu.
[1] Zeami was introduced to Yoshimitsu's court and was provided with an education in classical literature and philosophy while continuing to act.
Zeami mixed a variety of Classical and Modern themes in his writing, and made use of Japanese and Chinese traditions.
Zeami successfully sought out patronage from wealthy merchants and continued his career under their support.
Possibly due to this disagreement, though a variety of competing theories have been advanced, Yoshinori sent Zeami into exile to Sado Island.
[2] A later genealogy mentions his mother as the daughter of a priest and a military official, but it is not deemed reliable.
[3] His father Kanami led a theater troupe[2] which primarily performed in the Kyoto region,[4] before becoming popular in the late 1360s and early 1370s.
[9] Due to his connection with the Shōgun, Zeami was provided with a classical education by court statesman and poet Nijo Yoshimoto.
[10] Nijo was renowned for his skill as a Renga and taught Zeami about literature, poetry, and philosophy.
[16] Contemporary dramatists Doami and Zoami had a significant influence on him,[17] earning recognition in his treatises.
[23] Zeami found Yoshimitsu to be a difficult patron,[23] and was rivaled by Inuo, a Sarugaku actor, for the favor of the Shōgun.
He sought to inform his colleagues of the most important aspects of theater, discussing the education of the actor,[30] character acting, music, and physical movement.
[32] The treatises were intended for a small circle of his colleagues, since the troupes were hereditary and such information was traditionally passed down between generations.
J. Thomas Rimer suggests that Zeami's education in Renga poetry provided him with the idea.
[25] After Ashikaga Yoshinori became the Shōgun, he demonstrated a deeper disdain for Zeami than his predecessors had,[19] though the origins of his feelings are unknown.
[4] In 1967, the Kanze-Fukudu genealogy was found and gave credence to the idea that politics contributed to Yoshinori's treatment of Zeami.
The genealogy showed that a brother of Zeami's mother was a supporter of the southern court against the Ashikaga Shogunate.
[36] Zeami had been unsure whether any of his sons would be able to lead the troupe after his death, so he paid special attention to Onnami's development.
[19] That year Zeami's son Motoyoshi retired from acting to serve as a Buddhist priest.
[19] He completed his last recorded work two years later, providing a detailed first-person account of his exile.
[43] There are few extant biographical documents of Zeami, the lack of solid information about his life has led to a significant amount of speculation.
[4] Some common themes in the speculation are that Zeami could have been a spy, a Ji sect priest, or a Zen master.
