Konparu Zenchiku was a major playwright and theorist of sarugaku, the medieval dramatic form that became known as n. Son-in-law and artistic heir to Zeami Motokiyo, the pivotal figure in the history of n, Zenchiku advanced the yugen style of composition and performance that has come to dominate the n theater.

The art of n drama can be traced to sangaku, miscellaneous circuslike entertainments imported from the Asian continent in the eighth century. During the Heian period sangaku was performed both in the countryside by itinerant artists and also in more formal, ceremonial circumstances at court and at major temples and shrines. In the Kamakura period comic pantomime, then called sarugaku, became increasingly popular, paving the way for monomane, the art of realistic characterization that is central to n. Also important to the n tradition is shushi sarugaku, in which professional sarugaku performers would act out exorcism ceremonies...