Korobase　崑崙八仙

KEY WORD :　art history / sculptures

Lit. Eight Hermits of Mt. Konron. Also read Konron Hassen. Alternative name: Tsurumai 鶴舞 (Crane Dance). Masks representing cranes with a crown used in the bugaku 舞楽 dance Hassen 八仙 (Eight Hermits), a quiet dance hiramai 平舞 of the Right u-no-mai 右舞 introduced from Korea komagaku 高麗楽, and performed by four dancers (for classification terms see *bugaku 舞楽). The dance derives from two Chinese legends. In one, eight Chinese recluses living on Mt. Konron come down into the city, and in the other, cranes dance on the beach to the sound of a Chinese zither (Ch; qin 琴). In bugaku, four bird-like figures dance, their calls represented by the jingling of small bells hanging from the beaks of the masks. The climax occurs when the dancers join hands and sweep around in a circle, evoking with the dark blue sleeves of their robes the take off and flight of the cranes. A representation of this scene appears in the famous screens of 'Bugaku' by Tawaraya Soutasu 俵屋宗達 (act. early 17c; Daigoji 醍醐寺, Kyoto) and in similarly entitled screens by Tosa Touou 土佐桃翁. Korobase masks are found in both deep and shallow styles of carving. All the earlier masks, like the ones dated 1042 and originally belonging to Toudaiji 東大寺, as well as the restored mask at Astuta Jinguu 熱田神宮 (dated 1178) in Aichi prefecture, are deeply carved and very three-dimensional, with large beaks and goggle eyes. In contrast, the Korobase by the buddhist sculptor *busshi 仏師 Inshou 印勝 (dated 1185) at Kasuga Taisha 春日大社 in Nara, appears flat, the beak and eyes suggested in shallow relief and the expressive element relegated to the patterning of incised wrinkles. The popularity of Inshou's piece is suggested by copies of this shallower type dating from the 14c to 17c.

REFERENCES:

*bugakumen 舞楽面

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