Zeami lost his son and the leadership of his Noh troupe to the shogun's favourite, and was exiled to Sado at about 72

Zeami performed before the shogun Yoshimitsu at 11 and won his patronage. He led the Kanze troupe after his father Kannami died, wrote many new plays, and wrote treatises on acting for his successors. He passed the headship to his son Motomasa. In 1429 the new shogun, Yoshinori, barred Zeami from performing at the Sentō imperial palace and favoured his nephew, On'ami. Motomasa died young, about 1430 to 1432; sources differ. The shogunate gave the headship of the Kanze troupe to On'ami, although troupes passed by heredity. In 1434, at about 72, Zeami was exiled to Sado Island. The reason is not recorded. The encyclopedia Universalis says it was probably On'ami's intrigues at court. He wrote of the exile in the "Kintōsho", dated 1436. Zeami gave his finished works not to On'ami but to his son-in-law Komparu Zenchiku. Sources disagree on whether he returned to Kyoto after Yoshinori was murdered in 1441 or died on Sado. His treatises stayed within the troupes for centuries. Several were found in a used bookshop in 1908.