His oldest brother Soken lost sight in one eye and the second older brother Ochi-Kanze inherited the family name of the Ochi-Kanze family that was in a direct line of Zeami, so Mototada, who was the third son, inherited the position of the Kanze family head.
長兄の宗顕は片目を失明しており、また次兄の越智観世は世阿弥直系の家である越智観世家の名跡を継いだため、元忠が三男ながら観世宗家の後継となった。