Zeami

Zeami was a renowned Japanese actor, playwright, and theoretician who lived from the 14th to the 15th century. He is best known for developing Noh theater, a traditional form of Japanese performance that emphasizes poetry, music, dance, and subtle gestures to evoke deep emotional states. Zeami refined Noh, making it a highly aesthetic and disciplined art form aimed at expressing the inner feelings of characters through restrained movement and symbolism. His writings laid the foundation for Noh’s principles, influencing Japanese culture and performance arts for centuries.