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Kan'ami

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Kan'ami Kiyotsugu
観阿弥 清次
Born
Yūzaki Kiyotsugu (結崎 清次)

1333 (1333)
Iga Province, Japan
DiedJune 8, 1384(1384-06-08) (aged 50–51)
Suruga Province, Japan
Other namesMiyomaru (観世丸), Kanze Kiyotsugu (観世 清次)
OccupationsNoh actor, playwright, musician
Known forDevelopment of Noh theatre; incorporation of Kusemai and Dengaku elements
Notable workSotoba Komachi; Ji'nen Koji; Shiino Shōshō; Matsukaze; Motomezuka; Eguchi
ChildrenZeami Motokiyo

Kan'ami Kiyotsugu (観阿弥 清次; 1333 – June 8, 1384)[1] was a Japanese Noh actor, author, and musician during the Muromachi period. Born Yūzaki Kiyotsugu (結崎 清次) in Iga Province, Kan'ami also went by Miyomaru (観世丸) and Kanze Kiyotsugu (観世 清次). He is the father of the well-known playwright Zeami Motokiyo (世阿弥 元清).

Life

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Kan'ami's paternal line traced through Iga Province into Yamada troupes.[2] Kan'ami died in Suruga Province.[3]

Theater

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Illustration of positions of players on a Noh stage.

Kan'ami's career began in Obata, Nabari-shi, Mie when he founded a sarugaku theater group in the Kansai region on the main Honshu island. The troupe moved to Yamato and formed the Yuzaki theater company, which would become the school of Noh theater. He grew in popularity and began making trips to Kyoto to give performances. In 1374, the shōgun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was in the audience of a performance and was so impressed by it that he became Kan'ami's patron.[4]

Kan'ami was the first playwright to incorporate the Kusemai song and dance style and Dengaku dances from rustic harvest celebrations.[5] He trained his son Zeami Motokiyo in his style, and his son eventually succeeded him as director of the Kanze school of Noh.

Notable works

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References

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  1. ↑ Sturman, Janet (2019-02-26). The SAGE International Encyclopedia of Music and Culture. SAGE Publications. ISBN 978-1-5063-5337-1.
  2. ↑ Yamazaki, Masakazu (2020-05-05). On the Art of the No Drama: The Major Treatises of Zeami. Princeton University Press. p. 239. ISBN 978-0-691-21330-9.
  3. ↑ Reiko, Yamanaka; Bethe, Monica; Grossmann, Eike; Hare, Tom; Pellecchia, Diego; Watson, Michael (2025-01-20). A Companion to Nō and Kyōgen Theatre (Vol. 1). BRILL. p. 52. ISBN 978-90-04-70084-0.
  4. ↑ Beaman, Patricia Leigh (2023-09-20). World Dance Cultures: From Ritual to Spectacle. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-000-95612-2.
  5. ↑ Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature. Merriam-Webster. 1995. p. 620. ISBN 978-0-87779-042-6.

Further reading

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