2.The people who contributed to Noh

The Noh was supported and followed by various people. In this time, I would like to introduce the lives of two persons who contributed to development of the Noh.   

 At first, I introduce Kanami. He adopted elegant dances in the Noh which was mere mimicry art and greatly contributed to development of the Noh. Kanami (from 1333 to June 8, 1384) was a Noh farce player from the period of the northern and southern dynasties in Japan to the Muromachi era. He is the person who completed so-called the Noh with his son Zeami. He is a father of the people of Kanze and the name is Seiji. Kanami who was one of the Yamato yon-za, the founder of the Yuzaki-za made the new entertainment that introduced an unorthodox Noh song and a dance of the sound music of talk into the medieval Noh farce that was previous mimicry art. The famous Noh song “Sotobakomachi” “Zinenkoji” are masterpieces of Kanami. He played the Noh at Asama shrine in Shizuoka prefecture at last and there is the honoring monument.

 

Second, I talk about Zeami. Zeami (from 1363 to September 1, 1443) is a Noh farce player of the Yamato medieval Noh farce Yuzaki-za of the early period of Muromachi era in Japan. He was successful by a medieval Noh farce with Kanami who is his father and leave many books. The Noh play of Kanami and Zeami is inherited as the Kanze School in the present age. His real name is Gensei.

Kanami who was Zeami’s father was an infuluental actor of the Yamato medieval Noh farce at 31 years old when Zeami was born. Zeani appeared to the father’s stage from childhood. When 12-year-old Zeami appeared in the medieval Noh farce that Kanami just held in Kumano in 1374 or 1375, he was caught eye of Muromachi general Yoshimitsu Ashikaga. After that, Yoshimitsu came to protect Kanami and Zeami. Kanami dies in 1384, and Zeami inherits the back of father. Character to respect mysterious profundity was in the noble, samurai family society. Zeami matches the Noh with their preference, and it is thought that he completed “dreams and phantasms Noh” that having the mysterious and profound beauty in words, conduct, singing and dancing. Even if a general was charges of Yoshimochi Ashikaga after death of Yoshimitsu, Zeami let a medieval Noh farce deepen more and more. But, because Yoshimochi likes dengaku than a medieval Noh farce, protection of Shogunate was not received thanthe times of Yoshimitsu. Afterwards, oppression became severe, and he became a priest in 1422.

 references

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%A6%B3%E9%98%BF%E5%BC%A5
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%96%E9%98%BF%E5%BC%A5