Noh Masks: Types, Makers and How to Collect Them
Noh is the oldest surviving form of Japanese theatre, shaped in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries by Kan'ami and his son Zeami. Its principal actor wears a carved wooden mask, and the art of the mask is to hold many emotions in one still face. Tilted slightly upward, a woman's mask seems to smile; tilted down, it seems to weep. That subtlety is what collectors seek.
The five families of masks
There are roughly sixty basic types and many more named variations. They fall into five broad groups.
- Okina: the sacred old-man masks of the ritual play of the same name, with separately carved hinged jaws. The oldest and most revered type.
- Jō: old men, gods appearing in human form and spirits of ancient places.
- Otoko: young men, nobles, warriors and ghosts of fallen soldiers.
- Onna: women, from the youthful ko-omote to the mature fukai and the older uba. The most demanding masks to carve.
- Kishin and onryō: demons, deities of fierce aspect and vengeful spirits. The best known is hannya, a woman consumed by jealousy, with horns and a wide mouth.
How a mask is made
Most Noh masks are carved from a single block of Japanese cypress (hinoki). The face is shaped with chisels, the eyes and nostrils pierced, and the inside hollowed so the mask sits close to the actor's face. The front is coated in many thin layers of gofun, a white ground of crushed shell in animal glue, then painted with mineral pigments and ink. Hair lines are drawn with a fine brush, and gold or brass may be used for the eyes of demons and gods. The back is usually lacquered.
Makers and marks
During the Edo period, mask carving became a hereditary profession. Families such as the Deme carved for the great Noh schools and often signed or branded the back of their masks with a burned seal (yaki-in) or an inscription. A celebrated historic mask, held by a Noh school, is called a honmen. Later carvers made faithful copies, utsushi, which are respected works in their own right.
Stage masks and decorative masks
Mask carving is also a popular art in Japan today, and many fine masks were never intended for the stage. Neither is a lesser object, but the difference should be understood.
- Size and fit. A stage mask is slightly smaller than the actor's face, light, and hollowed to sit comfortably.
- The back. Old masks show tool marks softened by time and handling, with lacquer worn where the mask touched the face.
- The surface. Age brings fine crazing in the gofun and a mellow tone from candlelight and handling. Uniform, bright paint on a mask described as old deserves a closer look.
- Cord holes. Wear around the holes where the cord passed shows use.
- The box. A fitted box with an inscription naming the type and carver, and a silk mask bag, add to the record.
Noh and Kyōgen
Kyōgen, the comic interludes performed between Noh plays, has its own masks: animals, grinning gods, crafty old men and plain-faced women. They are broader in expression and collected as a separate field.
Display and care
Masks are best shown on a low stand or hung against a plain wall at eye level, away from direct sun and heat. Gofun is fragile: handle a mask by its edges, never by the face, and never clean the painted surface. When not on display, keep it in its bag and box.
Questions collectors ask
Is a hannya mask bad luck?
No. In Japan the hannya is also seen as a protective figure, and it appears on tattoos, textiles and charms for that reason.
Can a Noh mask be signed on the front?
Very rarely. Marks are almost always on the back.