Noh is the classical theatre of Japan which was codified in the 14th century by the father and son actors Kan'ami and Zeami under the patronage of the Shogun (supreme military leader) Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. In the Noh theatre, Hashihime is the mask of a woman whose unrequited love transforms her face into that of a demon of jealousy. The character of Hashihime comes from an episode in the 'Tale of the Heike' (J. Heike Monogatari - the tales of the wars of the 12th century) in which a deranged woman transforms herself into a demon by weeks of self-mortification in a freezing river. She appears as a demon on the bridge after smearing herself with red clay (the name Hashihime means Young Woman on the Bridge). She wears a metal hoop (kanawa) bearing candles and recites curses in the dead of night. The mask is used today in the second part of the Noh play Kanawa when the woman has transformed into the demon Hashihime.

The mask is of carved from a single block of Japanese cypress (hinoki) over which a finely finished layer of gesso (J. gofun) has been applied. The mask has then been painted red with the creases between the natural eyebrows and around the nose accentuated by the addition of a deeper red. The forehead is, however, a much paler colour, almost white, adding to the tension of the character, and giving the impression of the blood flowing away from the surface of the skin as Hashihime clenches her features. The difference in colour also indicates that the transformation from woman to demon is not fully complete, this paler colour being closer to that used in traditional female masks. The hair, painted in black ink (J. sumi), displays the typical stylised formula for a woman's hair, although here thickly drawn, over which has been delicately painted the straggling loose hair of the possessed woman.

The irises of the eyes are inlaid with a gilded metal disc (traditionally used on Noh masks to indicate a demon, or demonic possession) and the whites are painted a pale pink with additional highlighting in sumi. The facial expression is contorted by the drawing together of the natural eyebrows into a double crease between the eyes. The intensity of the emotions is added to by the slanting painted eyebrows on the forehead and by the wild piercing eyes. The mouth is carved as little more than an open slit with the lips painted a deep red. The bottom lip protrudes slightly, revealing the upper and lower teeth which are painted gold with highlights in black ink. This indicates the transformation from a woman (with the teeth painted black) to a demon (with the teeth painted gold). This subtle demonstration of the carvers skill is not at first noticeable.

The interior of the mask is stained a warm reddish brown with the grain of the wood forming a sensitive pattern around a knot in the grain in the centre of the forehead. Few chisel marks are evident, the surface of the wood being very smooth. The left cord hole appears to have an earlier hole just above it which has been filled and stained.