noumen　能面

KEY WORD :　art history / sculptures

Masks used in the *nou 能 theater and worn by the main actor shite シテ, and his companion tsure ツレ. Noh masks noumen 能面 developed in the 14 and 15c contemporaneously with the narrative dance dramas of sarugaku-no-nou 申楽の能, today known simply as nou. Both the theater form and the masks grew out of local festival customs and then were refined and systematized under the influence of the daimyou 大名 class. Both are characterized by subtle expression and restrained dynamics. The earliest noh masks, those for the ritual play OKINA 翁, *okinamen 翁面, belong to a broad festival and court tradition and predate the master artists who refined and developed the nou, Kan'ami Kiyotsugu 観阿弥清次 (1333-84) and Zeami Motokiyo 世阿弥元清 (1363-1443). While the construction of these okina masks bears comparison with earlier bugaku masks *bugakumen 舞楽面 and Korean masks, the forms of the other noh masks suggest native Japanese inspiration. The earliest non-okina masks to develop were probably masks of demon-gods *kijinmen 鬼神面 derived from those used in festivals enacting the exorcism of evil beings. Old men's masks *joumen 尉面, have their origin in masks for gods appearing in the guise of an old man. Masks of young women and men, according to the mask historian Nakamura Yasuo 中村保雄 were first created as images of deities and sculpturally derived from Kamakura period Shinto statues. Roles of ordinary young women were played in the early years by unmasked boys, but by the late 14c, in response to the composition of poetic plays infused with a transcendent elegance, yuugen 幽玄, carvers created appropriate women's masks *onnamen 女面. This allowed mature players of the all-male troupes to perform the demanding female roles. Eventually, masks were also made for courtiers and historic characters (see *otokomen 男面), but the roles of living men continue even today to be performed unmasked, hitamen 直面. Plays about restless spirits were written beginning in the mid-14c and demanded the creation of masks representing both powerful Shinto spirits and revengeful or suffering spirits from the other world, *onryoumen 怨霊面. The naturalistic and distinctly Japanese features of the majority of the noh masks presents a striking contrast to the more abstract bugaku masks and the continental features of the large gigaku masks *gigakumen 伎楽面. Their size, also, is comparatively small, the masks being made to fit in front of the face rather than over the head like gigaku masks. A wig that covers the rest of the head and overlaps with the mask completes the realistic portrayal. The actor is entirely contained by the costume and mask. Before a performance the actor venerates the mask, paying respect to the 'life' or 'god' within the mask, and then contemplates his masked visage in preparation for going on stage. His acting will be judged by his capacity to bring out the life in the mask and not be overwhelmed by it. Similarly, masks are evaluated not merely by their technical excellence as art objects, but more importantly by their capacity to come alive on stage. How the mask gains this life is the art of the carver. Historically, the art of carving masks divides into two main periods: creative and re-creative. Until the end of the 15c noh mask carvers (see *jissaku 十作) invented new masks for specific roles or types of role. They worked in conjunction with actors, and were not, as for bugaku and gigaku masks, sculptors of Buddhist statues *busshi 仏師. A few were actors themselves. Fine masks were treasured, passed on for generations, restored when damaged from wear, and copied. By the 16c, books classifying no masks appeared, establishing some 125 distinct styles (today the count is closer to 200) distinguished often by details such as the manner of painting the strands of hair and eyebrows, or whether one or two rows of teeth show. During the Edo period when nou was the official performance art of the shogunal court and daimyou often had their own troupes, the demand for masks increased. Carvers worked to recreate the established name-types honmen 本面 by making copies utsushi 写. Prominent mask carver families appeared, such as the Oumi Iseki 近江井関, of whom Kawachi 河内 (d. 1645) is the most famous, the Deme 出目 with the skilled mask-makers Zekan 是閑(d. 1616) and Yuukan 友閑 (d. 1652), the Deme Genkyuu 出目元休, the Kodama 児玉, and the Genri 元利. As master passed on his art to disciple, techniques were refined, and painting methods became more complex. To suggest age and add patina, areas were shaded with brownish soot. In order to be effective on stage, these copies had not only to be true to the image of the original, but also contain the subtle imbalances and sculptural tensions that allow for shifts in expression on stage. Within a symmetrical visage, one eye was made to look up, the other down, one corner of the mouth to be more exaggerated than the other. Today without daimyou patronage, noh masks are made by individual craftsmen, selling where they can, and in recent years, teaching their art to amateurs. The noh masks are made from unblemished blocks of Japanese cypress hinoki 桧. The front and back are carved alternately, and holes opened for the pupils, nostrils and mouth. A great deal of time is spent moving the mask and observing the flow of its lines to refine the expression. The carved mask then gets multiple layers of prime made from the powdered white pigment *gofun 胡粉 mixed with animal glue *nikawa 膠. For the final layer of gofun, flesh colors are added. Lastly the features are indicated with black ink *sumi 墨, along the hairline and around the eyelids, tiny brush strokes to delineate the hairs for eyebrows, mustache, and shading within the eyeballs, and vermilion for the mouth, and some highlights. Gold paint or metallic　insets are used on supernatural figures. The backs of the masks were finished variously, often lacquered. The carving traces on the backs of masks provide clues to the artisan's technique and identity. Often the backs have carved, stamped, or brushed inscriptions giving the name or symbol of the carver, and possibly also such things as the date, place, owner, or occasion. Since some inscriptions were added by the restorer, others faked, they are not an entirely reliable key to dating. Being theatrical tools as much as art objects, noh masks are today housed in each of the five main schools of nou, Kanze 観世, Houshou 宝生, Kongou 金剛, and Kita 喜多 and Konparu 金春. Large shogunal and daimyou collections of noh masks from the Edo period are owned by such families as the Tokugawa 徳川, Hosokawa 細川, Maeda 前田, Ikeda 池田, and Ii 井伊. In addition, shrines, temples and villages that incorporate nou performances in their festivals, such as in the village of Kurokawa 黒川, Yamagata prefecture, have important collections. Finally, the national museums in Japan and some museums abroad, such as the Boston Fine Arts, the British Museum, and the Berlin Museum have substantial collections.

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