Zeami and Kan'ami

The relationship and impact that both Kan'ami and Zeami had on Asian theatre I think are incredibly substantial.  Kan'ami was a Noh actor, author, and musician.  He founded a theatre group and later opened his own school.  He ended up performing for an audience where a shogun was in attendance and fell in love with the dance.  This shogun became Kan'ami's patron and supported Kan'ami and all his endeavors.  When Zeami was born Kan'ami showed him all there was to acting.  He had a skill for it and even impressed a shogun as well.  Later that shogun helped to fund Zeami in taking Classical Literature and Philosophy classes.  He was able to incorporate his learning of the subject matters into his writings and teachings.  When his father died he took over the theatre group and was able to help take Noh to a whole new level.
     I think that the story of Kan'ami and Zeami just goes to show how important both tradition and innovation can be.  Zeami was able to follow in his father's footsteps and I am sure that this made him very proud.  Zeami was born with the acting jeans and Kan'ami was able and willing to spend the time to help foster those skills.  Passing down information and skill sets are extremely important to the survival of performances like Noh.  Not only that but Zeami was able to incorporate his own research and ideas into the traditional art form of Noh that his father had originally taught.  I think that that shows great initiative on Zeami's part, to feel the need and desire to learn as much as he can and then put that into what he already knew about Noh.  He helped to make Noh grow and I think become a more advanced art form.  And then again going back to the relationship that Kan'ami and Zeami had I think that it was a necessity to have both of them involved in the creation and evolution of Noh.  It shows a sense of togetherness and family first attitude.  It reflects on Asian culture itself as well, in that when you have a passion for the arts you must help that passion blossom.  The dedication to Noh that the two of them shared shows how much the theatre meant to them and how it was a lifestyle rather than just a hobby.  And that can be said for a lot of people who performed in the Asian theaters.