Said to have been born in Iga (Mie) (debated). He later joined the Yūzaki troupe of Yamato (Nara) sarugaku and honed his craft as an actor.
Around this time his eldest son Zeami was born (year debated). Their troupe came to be called the Kanze troupe, ancestor of today's Kanze school.
Around this time he is thought to have brought the lively rhythms of the popular kusemai dance into sarugaku, creating a new Noh centered on song and dance. Performances at Daigo-ji in Kyoto won him fame.
At Imakumano in Kyoto he performed with his son before the young shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (some say 1375). Moved by their art, Yoshimitsu became their patron—a turning point in Noh's acceptance as an art of the warrior elite.
By around this time he had written works such as Jinen Koji and reworked older pieces, prizing both the fun of mimicry and a beauty that touches the heart.
He died shortly after performing Noh at Sengen Shrine in Suruga (Shizuoka) while on tour. In the Fūshikaden Zeami praised his aged father's last performance as still possessing "the flower".
Nijō YoshimotoImagawa Sadayo (Ryōshun)Hosokawa YoriyukiAshikaga YoshiakiraAshikaga MotoujiShiba YoshimasaAshikaga YoshimitsuZeami
People of the Muromachi period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.