Sagi Niemon Sôgen is considered the founder of the Sagi school of kyôgen theater.
Niemon was among Toyotomi Hideyoshi's and Tokugawa Ieyasu's favorite performers. After the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate, Niemon and his nephew Sagi Den'emon (a sôke, or family head, of a Sagi branch family) became officially recognized as two of the top-ranked kyôgen performers of their time.
References
- Alex Rogals, "Sagi-ryû: The Elusive Third School of Kyôgen," The Theatre Times, 11 Feb 2017.