Zeami Motokiyo (世阿弥 元清? 1363-1443), also known as Kanze Motokiyo (観世 元清?), was a Japanese actor and playwright.

In addition to writing numerous plays, Zeami authored manuals on theater theory, published in 1910, and established Noh theater as a serious art form. His books are not only instructions but also aesthetic treatises based on Japan's spiritual culture. The most celebrated are "The Book of the Transmission of Flower and Style," Fūshi kaden (風姿花伝), written in 1423, and the collection of treatises "The Secret Traditions of Noh," which were discovered in 1909 and published in 1960.