Otoami - Onami

Japanese: 音阿弥 - おんあみ

Year of death: Onin 1.1.2 (1467.2.6)
Year of birth: 1398
A Noh actor in the mid-Muromachi period. He was the superstar third Kanze Dayu and built the foundation for the prosperity of the Kanze troupe. His real name was Motoshige, and he was commonly known as Saburo. Although he was the son of Zeami's younger brother Shiro, he used the same name Saburo as Zeami, and it seems that he was adopted by Zeami at one time. He was favored by Ashikaga Yoshinori before he became shogun, and after Yoshinori became shogun, he received strong support and overwhelmed Zeami and his eldest son, Kanze Motomasa. In 1433 (Eikyō 5), the year after Motomasa's early death, he became a Kanze Dayu, and the Shogun hosted a Kanjin Sarugaku performance at Tadasugawara to introduce new Dayu performers. After Yoshinori's sudden death, he found himself in a difficult position for a time, but with the support of Ashikaga Yoshimasa, his position as the leading performer remained unshakable. At about the age of 60, he became a monk and took the name Onnami (also called "Onnami"), and handed over his position as a tayu to his eldest son Masamori, but his activities did not decline, and he performed as shite in 12 Noh plays over three days at the Tadasugawara Kanjin Sarugaku Festival in 1464. He was a born entertainer who did not compose Noh plays or write about them, but he made a great contribution to the spread of Noh.

(Matsuoka Shinpei)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：応仁1.1.2(1467.2.6)
生年：応永5(1398)
室町中期の能役者。スーパースターの3代目観世大夫で,観世座隆盛の礎を築いた。実名元重。通称三郎。世阿弥の弟四郎の子ながら,世阿弥と同じ三郎を名乗っており,一時は世阿弥の養子だったらしい。将軍になる以前の足利義教に贔屓され,義教が将軍となってからは強力な後援を得て,世阿弥やその長男観世元雅を圧倒した。元雅が早世した翌年の永享5(1433)年に観世大夫となり,将軍主催の新大夫披露の勧進猿楽が糺河原で催された。義教の急死後,一時苦境に立ったが,足利義政の後援を受け第一人者の地位はゆるがなかった。60歳ごろ出家して音阿弥(「おんなみ」とも呼ぶ)と称し,大夫を長男政盛に譲るが,寛正5(1464)年の糺河原勧進猿楽でも3日間で12番の能のシテを勤めるなど活躍ぶりは衰えなかった。能作や伝書の著述などしない根っからの芸人だが,能の普及に果たした功績は大きい。

(松岡心平)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

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