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 Tokugawa family, the ruling military elite.

The demonic mask of Shikami, which is traditionally used in conjunction with a wig of long, bright red hair, is used to express the violent emotions of the characters found in Noh plays such as Rashomon; this is a particularly dramatic play which relates the story of a demon which lives in the Rashomon, one of the gates to Kyoto. The demon is eventually defeated by a warrior hero of the late tenth century.

The mask is dramatically and powerfully carved from a block of Japanese cypress and then painted a striking red colour, with features highlighted in black ink. The teeth and eyes would originally have been covered with a sheet of gilded metal. The mask is signed on the inside with gold lacquer "Deme Yukan Uchi" - "carved by Deme Yukan", and has a branded seal "Tenka Ichi Yukan" - "First under Heaven, Yukan". Yukan was the third master of the prolific Ono-Deme family of mask makers.