Noh Mask
2000 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
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. Under Yoshimitsu the Zen principles of restraint, understatement, economy of movement and frugality of expression became incorporated into the performance. By the early seventeenth century Noh had become an even more austere and formalised drama reserved almost exclusively for the military elite.
The mask represents a female serpent-demon filled with malicious jealousy and hatred. Two horns sprout from the temples and bulbous, metallic eyes lie half hidden beneath scowling brows. The gaping mouth is full of gold teeth, with upper and lower fangs that heighten her ferocity. The flesh tone of the face varies depending on the social rank of the woman portrayed, with a lighter complexion indicating aristocratic status. The mask is worn by the protagonist (shite) in the second acts of the Noh plays Aoi no Ue, Dojoji, Kurozaka, and Momijigari. The first two plays depict women betrayed or spurned by their lovers; the second two portray demons who first appear in human form to trap the unwary. Several traditions account for the name Hannya: the most plausible account traces the origins of the mask to the mask carver Hannyabo who was active in the late 15thC or early 16thC.
The mask is carved from a single piece of hinoki with the horns added as separate pieces and fitted into sockets on the upper part of the forehead. There is a substantial layer of gofun over which the details have been added. The carving is extremely well executed and the transformation from human to demon is well depicted. The deeply sunken eyes, inset with a gilded metal plate which is skilfully fitted into the eye sockets, stare out from under malevolent brows: the teeth also have a gilded metal plate applied and this further emphasises the demonic transformation.
The hair is finely drawn in black ink (sumi) which also indicates the transformation from human to demon. The top of the head is painted with the parting and fine hair typically found on a mask of a beautiful woman, but many fine strands of dishevelled hair are drawn around the forehead. The depiction of the transformation from a once-beautiful woman to the demonic Hannya has been perfectly executed by the skills of the carver.
The mask represents a female serpent-demon filled with malicious jealousy and hatred. Two horns sprout from the temples and bulbous, metallic eyes lie half hidden beneath scowling brows. The gaping mouth is full of gold teeth, with upper and lower fangs that heighten her ferocity. The flesh tone of the face varies depending on the social rank of the woman portrayed, with a lighter complexion indicating aristocratic status. The mask is worn by the protagonist (shite) in the second acts of the Noh plays Aoi no Ue, Dojoji, Kurozaka, and Momijigari. The first two plays depict women betrayed or spurned by their lovers; the second two portray demons who first appear in human form to trap the unwary. Several traditions account for the name Hannya: the most plausible account traces the origins of the mask to the mask carver Hannyabo who was active in the late 15thC or early 16thC.
The mask is carved from a single piece of hinoki with the horns added as separate pieces and fitted into sockets on the upper part of the forehead. There is a substantial layer of gofun over which the details have been added. The carving is extremely well executed and the transformation from human to demon is well depicted. The deeply sunken eyes, inset with a gilded metal plate which is skilfully fitted into the eye sockets, stare out from under malevolent brows: the teeth also have a gilded metal plate applied and this further emphasises the demonic transformation.
The hair is finely drawn in black ink (sumi) which also indicates the transformation from human to demon. The top of the head is painted with the parting and fine hair typically found on a mask of a beautiful woman, but many fine strands of dishevelled hair are drawn around the forehead. The depiction of the transformation from a once-beautiful woman to the demonic Hannya has been perfectly executed by the skills of the carver.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
|
| Materials and techniques | Carved from a block of Japanese cypress with applied gesso (J. gofun) and painted; separately applied horns |
| Brief description | Woo, Japan, theatrical accessories. Noh mask of hannya, Suzuki Nohjin, Kobe, 2000. |
| Physical description | Carved and painted wooden Noh mask of Aka-Hannya (Red Hannya). |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions | 'Nohjin' (Maker's name, in circular brand inside mask) |
| Gallery label | Masking our emotions
Masks have fixed faces, but an actor wearing one can use light and movement to show different expressions.
This Japanese mask represents a woman transformed into a demon.
[Young V&A, Imagine Gallery short object label] (2023) |
| Credit line | Suzuki Nohjin Bequest |
| Object history | In 1965 Suzuki Nohjin began training under Ujiharu Nagasawa, a renowned carver of Noh masks. From his studio in Kobe, Suzuki continued a tradition which stretches back over some 600 years creating Noh masks both for performance and exhibition. Suzuki has donated a number of masks since 1987 thereby enhancing the V&A’s collections of masks which began in 1876 when we acquired 12 masks from Samuel Bing. During February and March 2002 in the Toshiba Gallery at the V&A, as part of the Japan 2001 Festiva, Suzuki displayed 12 masks in the exhibition ‘The Spirit of Transformation: the Noh masks of Suzuki Nohjin’ and subsequently donated six masks (FE.127 to 132-2002). It was typical of Suzuki’s friendship with the V&A that even on his death-bed that among his last thoughts he instructed a bequest of No masks – including a mask of Okina, a type that I had mentioned to Suzuki many years ago that we would dearly love to have in our collection. |
| Summary | 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. Under Yoshimitsu the Zen principles of restraint, understatement, economy of movement and frugality of expression became incorporated into the performance. By the early seventeenth century Noh had become an even more austere and formalised drama reserved almost exclusively for the military elite. The mask represents a female serpent-demon filled with malicious jealousy and hatred. Two horns sprout from the temples and bulbous, metallic eyes lie half hidden beneath scowling brows. The gaping mouth is full of gold teeth, with upper and lower fangs that heighten her ferocity. The flesh tone of the face varies depending on the social rank of the woman portrayed, with a lighter complexion indicating aristocratic status. The mask is worn by the protagonist (shite) in the second acts of the Noh plays Aoi no Ue, Dojoji, Kurozaka, and Momijigari. The first two plays depict women betrayed or spurned by their lovers; the second two portray demons who first appear in human form to trap the unwary. Several traditions account for the name Hannya: the most plausible account traces the origins of the mask to the mask carver Hannyabo who was active in the late 15thC or early 16thC. The mask is carved from a single piece of hinoki with the horns added as separate pieces and fitted into sockets on the upper part of the forehead. There is a substantial layer of gofun over which the details have been added. The carving is extremely well executed and the transformation from human to demon is well depicted. The deeply sunken eyes, inset with a gilded metal plate which is skilfully fitted into the eye sockets, stare out from under malevolent brows: the teeth also have a gilded metal plate applied and this further emphasises the demonic transformation. The hair is finely drawn in black ink (sumi) which also indicates the transformation from human to demon. The top of the head is painted with the parting and fine hair typically found on a mask of a beautiful woman, but many fine strands of dishevelled hair are drawn around the forehead. The depiction of the transformation from a once-beautiful woman to the demonic Hannya has been perfectly executed by the skills of the carver. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | FE.3:1, 2-2004 |
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| Record created | June 25, 2009 |
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