REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Japan
YEAR PRINTED: 1976
VALUE: 140 yen
Despite being issued almost 30 years later, this stamps mirrors one issued by Japan in 1947, also depicting a Noh mask. This monochromatic stamp bears a mask from the Noh, Kagura, and Kyogen dance dramas, the okina, or wise and benevolent old man.
REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Japan
YEAR PRINTED: 2003
VALUE: 80 yen
This stamp is part of a sheet of 80-yen stamps issued by the Japanese government in 2003 to celebrate the 400th Anniversary of the Edo Shogunate. This stamp depicts a Noh mask, probably of the character known as Kantanotoko. Kantanotoko represents an unhappy man named Rosei who travels to a village named Kantan to consult a priest. During his stay, he dreams he becomes an emperor, but he awakens to find nothing changed.
REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Japan
YEAR PRINTED: 2003
VALUE: 80 yen
This stamp is part of a sheet of 80-yen stamps issued by the Japanese government in 2003 to celebrate the 400th Anniversary of the Edo Shogunate. This stamp depicts armor used by samurai, or feudal warriors. In the late medieval period, the armor included a mask called a mengu or men-yoroi, such as the one shown here. The mask was made of iron and usually had a fierce facial expression to intimidate enemies.
TITLE: Japanese Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Japan
SUBREGION: Kyoto Prefecture
ETHNICITY: Japanese
DESCRIPTION: Wood mask of unknown type
CATALOG ID: ASJP006
MAKER: Unknown workshop near Kyoto
CEREMONY: Unknown
AGE: 1985
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: string
This is a mask of an unknown type. It may have been used in kyōgen, which is a form of short comedic play popular in small villages and used as an intermission between dramatic nōgaku plays.
To watch a short documentary about Japanese Nogaku (Noh drama and Kyogen plays), click above.
TITLE: Kitsune (Fox) Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Japan
SUBREGION: Kyoto
ETHNICITY: Japanese
DESCRIPTION: Washi Kitsune (Fox) Mask
CATALOG ID: ASJP011
MAKER: Unknown
FUNCTION: Agriculture; Celebration; Purification
AGE: 1960s
MAIN MATERIAL: washi (Japanese paper)
OTHER MATERIALS: water-based paint; silk cord
Kitsune, or fox, masks are popular in Japan and worn in many types of theater and Shinto celebrations. Wood and kanshitsu masks are used in theater; paper masks like this one are used primarily by the public during festivals such as rice harvest or Oji’s Kitsune no Gyoretsu (Fox Parade) on New Year’s Eve. The fox’s popularity is related to its role as a shape-shifting messenger of the god Inari, protector of rice and fertility. The fox can act benignly or malevolently, bringing a rich harvest or wealth, or stealing these things.
TITLE: Kokushiki-Jo
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Japan
ETHNICITY: Japanese
DESCRIPTION: Kyodomen Kokushiki-Jo Mask
CATALOG ID: ASJP022
MAKER: Habu Mitsuma
CEREMONY: Okina (翁)
FUNCTION: agriculture; purification; spirit invocation
AGE: 1960s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: animal hair; pigment
The Okina is an ancient Japanese dance ritual that uses forms of mask known as kokushiki-jo and hakushiki-jo. These are among the oldest masked characters in Japanese ceremonies, originating as folk masks (kyodomen) used in ancient sarugaku (“monkey music”) theatre (circa 1000-1300 CE) and migrating to the formal stage for use between noh plays. The kokushiki-jo and haukshiki-jo both represent old men with divine qualities, but with slight differences in appearance. Unlike noh theatre, the Okina dance is mute, and it is performed by a kyōgen performer rather than a noh actor.
The Okina plays an important ceremonial role in the Shinto religion, because the kokushiki-jo performs the Sanbasō, a prayer-dance celebrating the emperor’s peaceful rain and seeking blessings for a bountiful harvest.
To watch a short documentary about Japanese Nogaku (Noh drama and Kyogen plays), click above.
TITLE: Kyōgen Ko-Tengu
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Japan
ETHNICITY: Japanese
DESCRIPTION: Ko-Tengu (Celestial Dog) Kyōgen Mask
CATALOG ID: ASJP024
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Kyōgen Theatre
FUNCTION: Celebration; Entertainment
AGE: 1960s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: laquer; paint; bronze sheet
The tengu is a legendary being very important to Japanese mythology, found in both folk tales and Shinto and Buddhist religious doctrines. Despite the reference to dog in the creature’s name (“celestial dog”) and origin, it is also associated with a predatory bird. The role of the tengu is ambiguous, with some sources treating it as a demon and others as a protective demi-god. Its form, too, varies between that of a large bird of prey and a brightly-colored human, nearly always with an exceptionally long nose.
The tengu is a popular masked character in Kyōgen theatre as well. Kyōgen is a traditional form of Japanese comic theatre, usually performed in village celebrations or as interludes between traditional Noh dramas. Kyōgen is performed by both masked and unmasked characters, whose role is defined in each traditional play. The actors are accompanied by flute, drum and gong music, but Kyōgen emphasizes dialogue and action over song or dance. In these plays, the tengu typically plays the role of trouble-maker (sometimes dupe) or mystical protector.
To watch a short documentary about Japanese Nogaku (Noh drama and Kyogen plays), click above.
TITLE: Kyōgen Usobuki
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Japan
ETHNICITY: Japanese
DESCRIPTION: Usobuki Kyodomen Mask
CATALOG ID: ASJP018
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Kyōgen Dance Drama
AGE: Unknown
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: horsehair; paint; lacquer
Kyōgen is a popular form of Japanese theater. It was traditionally used in village plays and developed alongside Noh theater, where it was performed at intermissions. Unlike Noh, which tends to have serious themes, the kyōgen generally takes the form of comedic plays.
The usobuki (sometimes transliterated usofuki) (“air blower”) is a comical character who appears to be blowing mightily. It is commonly thought to derive from a folk story about a boy named Hyottoko, who could produce gold from his belly button. It is used in different plays to represent a wide variety of roles, including a sinner on his way to the underworld, a scarecrow, insect spirits, and even plant spirits.
To watch a short documentary about Japanese Nogaku (Noh drama and Kyogen plays), click above.
TITLE: Menburyu Hannya Mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Japan
SUBREGION: Saga Prefecture
ETHNICITY: Japanese
DESCRIPTION: Hannya mask
CATALOG ID: ASJP026
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Menburyu (Furyu) Dance
AGE: early 2000s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint; lacquer; brass; gold dust; horse hair
Menburyu is a form of Furyu, a is a sacred masked dance native to Saga Prefecture in the autumn to seek an abundant harvest. In modern Furyu, dancers are accompanied by brass gongs and taiko drums. The Menburyu form of Furyu is practiced primarily in the southwest region of the prefecture and features a Hannya, or female serpent who has become a demon through spite and jealousy. The origin of the dance is believed to be a military battle in which defending forces attacked an invader at night wearing demon masks, wigs, and loud music to frighten the enemy. Other forms of Menburyu feature the tentsuki mask, representing a half-with a drawing of a dragon. When a Furyu dancer wears a mask, he is considered to incarnate the Buddha.
TITLE: Noh Hannya
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Japan
SUBREGION: Gunma Prefecture
ETHNICITY: Japanese
DESCRIPTION: Hannya Mask
CATALOG ID: ASJP021
MAKER: Unknown
CEREMONY: Noh Theater
AGE: 1950s-60s
MAIN MATERIAL: wood
OTHER MATERIALS: paint; brass; gold dust; lacquer; silk string
The Noh theater evolved from a combination of Chinese Nuo opera, popular village entertainment known as Sarugaku, and courtly Bugaku dance to become a uniquely Japanese form of high culture. Noh, or Nōgaku, probably first emerged as a distinct form of theater in the 14th century. A wide variety of plays developed over the ensuing three hundred or so years, with masked characters playing an important role in most. The masks require the actors to communicate through posture, body movement, and vocal control, whose perfection requires years of intense training. Although the masks prevent the actor from using facial expression, the most expertly carved masks can be made to express different emotions at different angles, so that he actor can change facial expression by the tilting his head.
This specific mask represents Hannya, the soul of a female who has become a demon or ghost through jealousy or obsession. The mask is designed to look angry from straight ahead, but sorrowful when tilted downward. Only exceptionally skilled carvers are able to produce a Hannya with the ability to convey both malice and misery. Light-skinned Hannya like this one denote aristocratic women; red masks indicate peasant women. All such roles were traditionally played by men.
For more on Noh masks, see the excellent book by Michishige Udaka and Shuichi Yamagata, The Secrets of Noh Masks (Tokyo: Kodansha International , 2010).
To watch a short documentary about Japanese Nogaku (Noh drama and Kyogen plays), click above.
