KANDA NOZOMI MUSIC: Zeami and the Origins of Noh Theatre

Noh theatre is considered the oldest form of theatre still performed today. In the 12th century, it was known as Sarugaku, but it was developed into its current form by Kan’ami and his son Zeami. Zeami, born around 1363, perfected the art and brought it to a new level. The suffix “-ami” was a title often used by Buddhist monks.

Zeami is often compared to William Shakespeare—England’s renowned playwright, poet, and actor—because Zeami was also a playwright, poet, actor, and widely recognized as a genius of his time. He not only wrote the scripts and music, but also performed the lead role, called the shite, in many plays.

At that time, artists had no official social status and often lived in poverty, much like bards in medieval Europe. Kan’ami and Zeami were no exception. It’s likely they performed in worn and patched costumes, much like those depicted in old drawings.

Zeami’s childhood name was Oniyasha, and his real name was Motokiyo.

At the age of eleven, Zeami performed the role of shishi (lion) alongside his father in a Noh performance competition. His talent stood out, and he quickly gained fame as a promising young actor.

Yoshimitsu & Golden Temple

It was at one of these performances that Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, ruler of the Muromachi shogunate, saw Kan’ami and Zeami perform. He was so impressed that he became their patron. (Although he appears older in paintings, Yoshimitsu himself was a young man at the time.)

Interestingly, it’s said that Zeami was a handsome boy, and the shogun may have taken a liking to him for both his beauty and talent—something not uncommon in that era.

Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, though not widely known in Europe, is the man who built the famous Golden Pavilion (Kinkaku-ji) in Kyoto.

During Zeami’s time, support from aristocrats and powerful figures like the shogun was vital for artists. So this encounter with Yoshimitsu changed the course of Zeami’s life and career.

However, as noted in the book Zeami, the young artist did not indulge in the affection of Yoshimitsu. Zeami was an intelligent and curious boy. While he expressed gratitude to the shogun in his writings, he never boasted about their relationship or tried to exploit it.

Another influential figure in Zeami’s life was Yoshimoto Nijō, an aristocrat and a highly cultured man of his time. He supported Zeami and introduced him to Japanese classical literature, poetry, and renga (linked verse poetry).

Receiving such an elite education was extremely rare for someone of Zeami’s humble origins.

In his early twenties, Zeami’s father Kan’ami passed away while traveling to perform in Suruga (modern-day Shizuoka Prefecture). Zeami then took full leadership of the Kanze troupe.

He revised and improved his father’s repertoire and created many new Noh plays. In order to pass on the tradition, Zeami wrote Fūshi Kaden, a theoretical guide on Noh performance for future generations. This book remains a landmark of Japanese aesthetic and theatrical philosophy.

Zeami faced challenges in naming a successor. As he had no children at the time, he adopted his nephew, Onnami, the son of his brother Kanze Shirō.

Eventually, Zeami and his wife were blessed with three children: their eldest son Jūrō Motomasa, a second son Shichirō Motoyoshi, and a daughter who later married Komparu Zenchiku.

Zeami struggled between favoring his biological son Motomasa or his adopted son Onnami as his successor. Though Onnami was initially named heir, when Zeami completed Fūshi Kaden in 1418, he passed it on to Motomasa.

Despite Zeami's earlier favor with Yoshimitsu, the shogun later turned his support toward another Noh actor, Inuō. He even praised Inuō, calling him “the best Sarugaku actor.”

After Yoshimitsu's sudden death, his son Yoshimochi became shogun. Yoshimochi, too, was highly cultured and practiced Zen Buddhism. However, his support went not to Inuō but to another actor, Zōhami, from the Dengaku tradition.

In 1428, Yoshimochi died and was succeeded by Ashikaga Yoshinori as the sixth shogun. For Yoshinori’s accession ceremony, it was not Zeami but Onnami who performed the grand Noh performance. From that moment, Onnami became the recognized leader of the Noh world. The Kanze troupe split into two branches: the mainstream led by Onnami, and the rival group associated with Zeami and Motomasa.

Around this time, Zeami’s second son Motoyoshi became a Buddhist monk—perhaps feeling uncertain about his future. Two years later, Motomasa passed away.

Following the loss of Motomasa, Zeami turned to his son-in-law, Komparu Zenchiku, as a philosophical and artistic successor. In his later years, Zeami entrusted him with deeper aspects of Noh performance theory.

Then, in 1434, at the age of 72, Zeami was suddenly exiled from Kyoto and banished to Sado Island (now part of Niigata Prefecture).

The reason for his exile remains unclear, as there is no official record. Our knowledge of this period comes mainly from a few letters Zeami wrote to Zenchiku and the text Kintōshō. There are no surviving travel notes from his journey to Sado.

In 1441, Shogun Yoshinori was assassinated, and Ashikaga Yoshimasa became the eighth shogun—the one known for building Kyoto’s famous Silver Pavilion (Ginkaku-ji). Despite this political change, Onnami retained his privileged status. Today’s Kanze school of Noh traces its lineage directly back to him.

As for Zeami, the exact circumstances of his death are unknown. According to family tradition, he died in 1443, likely on Sado Island, at the age of 81.