Komparu Zempō

▪ Japanese nō dramatist

also called  Hachiro Motoyasu  

born 1454, Japan

died c. 1520, , Japan

      nō dramatist and actor, grandson of nō actor and dramatist Komparu Zenchiku.

      Zempō was one of the last dramatists of nō's classic period. He wrote one play, Hatsuyuki (“First Snow”), in the restrained and poetic manner of his grandfather. Most of his work, however, such as Arashiyama, was written to appeal to a wide popular audience through the use of novelty, action-filled plots, and innovative schemes. While Zempō was head teacher of the Komparu school, which under his father had favoured a conservative style of performance called shimogakari and had waned in popularity, it revived and once again presented performances at the court in Kyōto.

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