He was born the son of Shirō, younger brother of Zeami, and was named Motoshige. Raised in the Kanze troupe founded by his grandfather Kan'ami, he learned the dances and chanting of sarugaku from early childhood. He is thought to have been adopted by his then childless uncle Zeami, but Zeami later had a son of his own, Motomasa.
From his youth he was favored by Gien, a son of the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and abbot of Shōren-in, and enjoyed his support. This year he is said to have performed kanjin sarugaku with Gien's backing. Kanjin sarugaku were benefit performances to raise funds for temples and shrines, a great stage to show an actor's skill.
When Gien returned to lay life and became the sixth shogun, Ashikaga Yoshinori, Motoshige enjoyed his strong favor. His uncle Zeami and Motomasa, by contrast, were kept at a distance and even barred from performing at the palace. Within the same family, fortunes were sharply divided by closeness to the shogun.
Motomasa, Zeami's heir, died while traveling in Ise. Zeami grieved deeply and wrote that his art had lost its successor. This opened the way for Motoshige to inherit the Kanze art, though complicated feelings are thought to have remained between him and Zeami.
He succeeded as Kanze tayū, head of the Kanze troupe, becoming the third Kanze tayū. That year he staged a grand kanjin sarugaku at Tadasugawara in Kyoto, attended by the shogun Yoshinori, making the new Kanze tayū widely known in the capital. With the shogun's backing, the troupe flourished.
Zeami, past seventy, was exiled to Sado by the shogun Yoshinori, for reasons that remain unclear. As the uncle who had perfected Noh left the capital, Motoshige became the leading actor of the city, valued by the shogun. Their contrasting fates show how closely the performing arts were bound to power.
He displeased the hot-tempered shogun Yoshinori and was kept at a distance for a time. Under Yoshinori, many people were punished for trivial matters. On this occasion Akamatsu Mitsusuke, a daimyo ruling Harima and other provinces, is said to have interceded and won his pardon.
While he was performing the Noh play Ugoha at a banquet in Akamatsu Mitsusuke's residence, the shogun Yoshinori was struck down by Mitsusuke's men: the Kakitsu Incident. Having lost his great patron, Motoshige was left in a difficult position for some time.
Even in this difficult period without a patron, he is said to have kept the troupe going by staging kanjin sarugaku at reduced prices. He drew audiences by the strength of his art and strove to protect the Kanze name. This perseverance led to his later comeback.
He won the favor of the eighth shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimasa, and was again given an important place by the shogunal house. Yoshimasa deeply loved the performing and fine arts and often enjoyed Motoshige's performances. The Kanze troupe once more became the most vigorous in the capital.
He handed the title of Kanze tayū to his son Masamori, became a monk and took the name On'ami. The name is said to combine Kanze with on, sound, echoing Kanzeon, the bodhisattva of compassion. Even after stepping down, he continued to appear on stage as a master.
His son Masamori staged a great kanjin sarugaku at Tadasugawara in Kyoto, and On'ami played the lead in twelve of the twenty-nine pieces, watched by the shogun Yoshimasa. Around the same time he also performed before Retired Emperor Go-Hanazono, and the renga poet Shinkei praised him as the finest master of the age.
He died in the year the Ōnin War began; his grave is said to be at Shūon-an in Kyōtanabe, Kyoto Prefecture. Unlike Zeami, he left no plays or treatises, but he is known as a master whose brilliant art captivated audiences and laid the foundation for the lasting prosperity of the Kanze school.
Kan'amiAshikaga YoshimitsuZeamiAkamatsu MitsusukeAshikaga YoshinoriAshikaga Yoshimasa
Ashikaga YoshimochiAshikaga YoshinoriIkkyū SōjunAshikaga MochiujiIchijō KaneyoshiYamana SōzenNisshinUesugi Norizane
People of the Muromachi period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.