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Bugaku King Rangryo

TITLE: Bugaku King Rangryo
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Japan
SUBREGION: Nara Prefecture
ETHNICITY: Japanese
DESCRIPTION: King Rangryo Mask
CATALOG ID: ASJP003
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Bugaku
AGE: ca. 1910
MAIN MATERIAL: hinoki (Japanese cypress) wood
OTHER MATERIALS: plaster; water-based paint; brass-sheeting; hardware; animal hair; silk cords

Bugaku is an official court dance of Japan, dating back to about 500 C.E.  During the Heian period, Bugaku dances were so central to protocol that nearly all ceremonies and festivals included them. The dance was especially important in appeasing angry gods, purifying the village, and petitioning the gods for rain or a good harvest.  The dance is performed to the music of drums and flutes. The dancers enter the stage singly in succession, then dance together in pairs, in synchronicity to varying tempos. Each dance has its own mask and is named after the mask.

Bugaku masks were sometimes made of wood, like this one, and sometimes made from kanshitsu, a composite of sawdust and resin shaped over a mold. This mask was danced in the early 20th century.  It is similar to a much older one in Nara, used at the Kasuga Taisha for festivals.  The chin is attached by silk cords to allow the mouth to swing freely with the dancer’s movements.

The Rangryo mask represents a young Chinese king who was renowned for his beauty, but who could not intimidate his enemies. In battle, he donned a hideous mask surmounted by a dragon to hide his face and frighten his enemies. The dance is a solo dance; it is highly martial and more active than many other Bugaku dances.

For more on Bugaku masks, see Kyōtarō Nishikawa, Bugaku Masks (Tokyo: Kodansha International Ltd. 1971).


Click above to watch a short documentary film about the Bugaku dance of Japan.

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Bugaku Korobase Mask

TITLE: Bugaku Korobase Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Japan
SUBREGION: Nara Prefecture
ETHNICITY: Japanese
DESCRIPTION: Bugaku Mask of Korobase (Crane)
CATALOG ID: ASJP020
MAKER: Nakabo Ryudo (Nara, 1940- )
CEREMONY: Bugaku
AGE: 2019
MAIN MATERIAL: polyester resin
OTHER MATERIALS: paint; silk cord; brass bell

Bugaku is an official court dance of Japan, dating back to about 500 C.E.  During the Heian period, Bugaku dances were so central to protocol that nearly all ceremonies and festivals included them. The dance was especially important in appeasing angry gods, purifying the village, and petitioning the gods for rain or a good harvest.  The dance is performed to the music of drums and flutes. The dancers enter the stage singly in succession, then dance together in pairs, in synchronicity to varying tempos. Each dance has its own mask and is named after the mask.

Bugaku masks were sometimes made of wood and sometimes from kanshitsu, a composite of sawdust and resin shaped over a mold. In modern times, Shinto temples have increasingly requested mask makers to produce thick polyester resin masks that are harder and more durable than wood or kanshitsu, as well as easier to reproduce once the mold has been sculpted,

The Korobase dance, also called Tsurumai (Crane Dance), is a slow, quiet dance involving four dancers in identical masks. The dancers represent cranes, the calls of the cranes represented by the bells hanging from their beak tips. The dance supposedly derives from two Chinese legends.  In one, eight Chinese recluses living on Mt. Konron come down into the city, and in the other, cranes dance on the beach to the music of a Chinese zither.  In the dance, the dancers form a square and do a slow, coordinated series of movements. The climax occurs when they join hands and sweep around in a circle, evoking with the dark blue sleeves of their robes the take off and flight of the cranes.

For more on Bugaku masks, see Kyōtarō Nishikawa, Bugaku Masks (Tokyo: Kodansha International Ltd. 1971).


Click above to watch a short documentary film about the Bugaku dance of Japan.

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Bugaku Somakusha

TITLE: Bugaku Somakusha
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Japan
SUBREGION: Osaka Prefecture
ETHNICITY: Japanese
DESCRIPTION: Somakusha Mask
CATALOG ID: ASJP002
MAKER: “Miyatake”
CEREMONY: Bugaku
AGE: 1990
MAIN MATERIAL: kanshitsu
OTHER MATERIALS: lacquer; kaolin clay; gold leaf; plant fiber; horse hair

Bugaku is an official court dance of Japan, dating back to about 500 C.E.  During the Heian period, Bugaku dances were so central to protocol that nearly all ceremonies and festivals included them. The dance was especially important in appeasing angry gods, purifying the village, and petitioning the gods for rain or a good harvest.  The dance is performed to the music of drums and flutes. The dancers enter the stage singly in succession, then dance together in pairs, in synchronicity to varying tempos. Each dance has its own mask and is named after the mask.

Bugaku masks were sometimes made of wood, and sometimes (like this one) made from kanshitsu, a composite of sawdust and resin shaped over a mold. This mask is a near replica of one from the 1920s or 1930s kept in the Shitennō-ji Temple in Osaka.

The Somakusha is thought to represent the god of a mountain who dances for a flute playing hermit who descended from the mountain after his devotions there.

For more on Bugaku masks, see Kyōtarō Nishikawa, Bugaku Masks (Tokyo: Kodansha International Ltd. 1971).


Click above to watch a short documentary film about the Bugaku dance of Japan.

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Child’s Dragon Mask

TITLE: Child’s Dragon Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Japan
SUBREGION: Kyoto
ETHNICITY: Japanese
DESCRIPTION: Doragon (Dragon) Mask for a Child
CATALOG ID: ASJP010
MAKER: Unknown maker in Sagano, Kyoto
FUNCTION: Agriculture; Celebration; Purification
AGE: 1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: washi (Japanese paper)
OTHER MATERIALS: newspaper; water-based paint; adhesive; string

Masks made from washi (thin but tough Japanese paper) are traditionally used by ordinary Japanese people during popular summer festivals in Kyoto Prefecture, such as Otaue Matsuri (rice planting festival) and rice harvest festival. They typically represent a lucky totem, such as the rabbit (usagi), dragon (doragon), raccoon dog (tanuki), or monkey (saru). Most often, such masks are worn by children, although adults may join in the fun as well.  The inscription reads: “Protection from Evil Mask, Saga.”

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Child’s Monkey Mask

TITLE: Child’s Monkey Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Japan
SUBREGION: Kyoto
ETHNICITY: Japanese
DESCRIPTION: Saru (Monkey) Mask for a Child
CATALOG ID: ASJP009
MAKER: Unknown maker in Sagano, Kyoto
FUNCTION: Agriculture; Celebration; Purification
AGE: 1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: washi (Japanese paper)
OTHER MATERIALS: newspaper; water-based paint; adhesive; string

Masks made from washi (thin but tough Japanese paper) are traditionally used by ordinary Japanese people during popular summer festivals in Kyoto Prefecture, such as Otaue Matsuri (rice planting festival) and rice harvest festival. They typically represent a lucky totem, such as the rabbit (usagi), dragon (doragon), raccoon dog (tanuki), or monkey (saru). Most often, such masks are worn by children, although adults may join in the fun as well.   The inscription reads: “Protection from Evil Mask, Saga.”

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Child’s Rabbit Mask

TITLE: Child’s Rabbit Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Japan
SUBREGION: Kyoto
ETHNICITY: Japanese
DESCRIPTION: Usagi (Rabbit) Mask for a Child
CATALOG ID: ASJP008
MAKER: Unknown maker in Sagano, Kyoto
FUNCTION: Agriculture; Celebration; Purification
AGE: 1970s
MAIN MATERIAL: washi (Japanese paper)
OTHER MATERIALS: newspaper; water-based paint; adhesive; string

Masks made from washi (thin but tough Japanese paper) are traditionally used by ordinary Japanese people during popular summer festivals in Kyoto Prefecture, such as Otaue Matsuri (rice planting festival) and rice harvest festival. They typically represent a lucky totem, such as the rabbit (usagi), dragon (doragon), raccoon dog (tanuki), or monkey (saru). Most often, such masks are worn by children, although adults may join in the fun as well.   The inscription reads: “Protection from Evil Mask, Saga.”

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Gyōdō Bosatsu Mask

TITLE: Gyōdō Bosatsu Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Japan
SUBREGION: Kyoto
ETHNICITY: Japanese
DESCRIPTION: Mask of Bosatsu (Bodhisattva)
CATALOG ID: ASJP007
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Gyōdō Procession
AGE: early 20th century
MAIN MATERIAL: hinoki (Japanese cypress) wood
OTHER MATERIALS: lacquer; paint

The gyōdō procession of Japan is a Buddhist ritual having several forms. Its oldest ceremony involves priests chanting sutras while walking in a procession around a temple building or idol. Gyōdō can also take the form of a masked funeral procession around a temple. The third type, which is the most commonly performed today, is a reenactment of the raigō, the legendary descent of the Amida Buddha from Nirvana to welcome the dead to the Western Paradise. In this ceremony, a priest wearing a mask of the Amida Buddha leads a procession of masked bosatsu.  Bosatsu is the Japanese term of Bodhisattva, a Buddhist saint who delays entering paradise to help mortals on Earth. Each bosatsu carries a heavenly musical instrument. The procession is still performed in some temples, such as Taima-dera in Nara or Sennyuji in Kyoto.

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Japan 1947 – 50 yen

REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Japan
YEAR PRINTED: 1947
VALUE: 50 yen

The oldest mask stamp known was printed in 1947 by Japan. This monochromatic stamp depicts a mask from the Noh dance drama, the Ona, or beautiful young woman.

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Japan 1952 – 5 yen

REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Japan
YEAR PRINTED: 1952
VALUE: 5 yen

This stamp was issued by the Japanese government in 1952 to celebrate traditional masks of the Noh theater. The Okina represents a cheerful old man and is the oldest surviving type of Noh mask, dating to the Yamato Empire (3rd-4th century CE). The Okina performs a ritual function of conferring the blessings of peace and good harvest on the village where it is performed.

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Japan 1965 – 70 yen

REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Japan
YEAR PRINTED: 1965
VALUE: 70 yen

This stamp, issued by the Japanese government in 1965, depicts a mask from the Noh dance drama, the Ona, or beautiful young woman. The Ona Noh mask has been a popular theme in Japanese postage since the first such stamp was issued in 1947.

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