Zeami was born in 1363[2] near Nara[3] and was known as Kiyomoto as a child.[2] A later genealogy mentions his mother as the daughter of a priest and a military official, but it is not deemed reliable.[3] His father Kanami led a theater troupe[2] which primarily performed in the Kyoto region,[4] before becoming popular in the late 1360s and early 1370s.