juuroku　十六

KEY WORD :　art history / sculptures

Sixteen. A noh mask *noumen 能面, representing the young Heike 平家 warrior Taira no Atsumori 平敦盛 (1169-84), killed in the battle of Ichinotani 一の谷 at Suma 須磨 bay. The teenager was fond of playing the flute. Sensitivity, bravery and youth are all apparent in the mask with its gentle eyes, blackened teeth, relaxed lips that almost smile and thin, unshaven eyebrows. Otherwise it follows the style of young men's masks, like *chuujou 中将 and *imawaka 今若. Used for roles of young courtier-warriors in ATSUMORI 敦盛 and IKUTA ATSUMORI 生田敦盛. A fine example with full cheeks and high-set '八' shaped eyebrows is housed in the Tokyo National Museum. Similar, but with a more open expression is the mask atsumori, used as an alternative. Another similar mask, genji 源氏, can be used to represent the hero of the tenth-century novel, GENJI MONOGATARI 源氏物語 (The Tale of Genji), in GENJI KUYOU 源氏供養 (A Mass for Prince Genji).

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