was a skilled Japanese

Noh is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art that is still regularly performed today. Although the terms Noh and ' ...

actor, troupe leader, and playwright. His plays are particularly characterized by an intricate, allusive, and subtle style inherited from Zeami which convolved

yūgen Japanese aesthetics comprise a set of ancient ideals that include '' wabi'' (transient and stark beauty), '' sabi'' (the beauty of natural patina and aging), and '' yūgen'' (profound grace and subtlety). These ideals, and others, underpin much o ...

with influences from

Zen Buddhism Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

(his Zen master was

Ikkyū was an eccentric, iconoclastic Japanese Zen Buddhist monk and poet. He had a great impact on the infusion of Japanese art and literature with Zen attitudes and ideals,Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan, entry "Ikkyū" by James H. Sanford as well a ...

) and

Kegon The Huayan or Flower Garland school of Buddhism (, from sa, अवतंसक, Avataṃsaka) is a tradition of Mahayana Buddhist philosophy that first flourished in China during the Tang dynasty (618-907). The Huayan worldview is based primar ...

. Actors should strive for unconscious performance, in which they enters the "circle of emptiness"; such a state of being is the highest level of artistic or religious achievement. He lived, worked, and died in the

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...

area of Japan. He was trained by Zeami and his son, Motomasa (died 1432), eventually marrying a daughter of Zeami. At some point he took the artistic name Komparu Ujinobu and then finally Komparu Zenchiku. In 1443, he became the leader of the Kanze acting troupe and thus the second successor to

Zeami Motokiyo (c. 1363 – c. 1443), also called , was a Japanese aesthetician, actor, and playwright. His father, Kan'ami Kiyotsugu, introduced him to Noh theater performance at a young age, and found that he was a skilled actor. Kan'ami was also skill ...

. Zeami passed on his secret teachings to Zenchiku, apparently prompting Zeami's exiling; this refusal to transmit to his blood descendants also prompted a split between the Komparu school and the Kanze. Zenchiku's grandson was

Konparu Zenpō was a Japanese Noh actor and playwright of the Konparu school. He was the grandson of Konparu Zenchiku. Zenpō's plays were more popular and dramatic, novel and crowd-pleasing with large casts and more elaborate effects and sets, than the plays o ...

, and his descendants would continue to head the Komparu school of Noh.

Works

Attributed writings

*''Rokurin ichiro no ki'' ("A Record of Six Rings and the One Sword"; 六輪一露之記) *''Go'on Sangyoku Shū'' ("Collected Comments on the Five

eeling Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stag ...

Tones and the Three Performing Modes sed to Create Them; 五音三曲集)

Noh plays

* ''Bashō'' ("The Plantain Tree"; 芭蕉) *''Eguchi'' (江口; sometimes credited to Kan'ami and revised by Zeami, or Ikkyu) * ''Kakitsubata'' ("The Iris"; 杜若; possibly by Zeami) * '' Kasuga ryūjin'' ("The Kasuga Dragon God"; uncertain authorship but attributed to Zenchiku) * ''Kogō'' ("Lady Kogō"; 小督) * ''Matsumushi'' ("The Pine Cricket"; 松虫) * ''Mekari'' (和布刈) * ''Oshio'' (小塩) * ''Saoyama'' (佐保山; Zenchiku?) * ''Seiōbo'' ("Queen Mother of the West"; 西王母) * ''Senju'' (千手 or 千寿) * ''Shironushi'' (代主) * '' Shōkun'' (very uncertain authorship; variously attributed to Zenchiku, Zeami, or neitherpg 1048, note 62, of ''Seeds in the Heart'') * ''Shōki'' (鍾馗) * ''

Shunkan Shunkan (俊寛) (c. 1143 – 1179) was a Japanese monk who, after taking part in the Shishigatani plot to overthrow Taira no Kiyomori, was exiled along with two others to Kikai-ga-shima. His story is featured in the '' Heike monogatari'', and in ...

'' or ''Kikaigashima'' (俊寛 or 鬼界島) * ''Tamakazura'' ("The Jeweled Chaplet"; 玉葛 or 玉鬘) * ''Tatsuta'' (龍田 or 竜田) * ''Teika'' (定家; about the rumored love affair between

Fujiwara no Teika , better-known as Fujiwara no Teika"Sadaie" and "Teika" are both possible readings of ; "...there is the further problem, the rendition of the name in romanized form. Teika probably referred to himself as Sadaie, and his father probably called ...

and

Shikishi Naishinnō Princess Shikishi or Shokushi ( ''Shikishi/Shokushi Naishinnō'') (1149 – March 1, 1201) was a Japanese classical poet, who lived during the late Heian and early Kamakura periods. She was the third daughter of Emperor Go-Shirakawa (1127–1192 ...

) * ''Ugetsu'' ("Rain and Moon"; 雨月) * '' Yang Kuei-fei'', ''Yokihi'', or ''Yōkihi'' (楊貴妃)

References

External links

List of Noh plays''Ugetsu'' synopsis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Komparu, Zenchiku Noh playwrights 1405 births 1470 deaths 15th-century Japanese male actors

Works

Attributed writings

Noh plays

Further reading

References

External links