kotobide　小飛出

KEY WORD :　art history / sculptures

A noh mask *noumen 能面 representing the spirit of a fox or other terrestrial spirit. A gaping open mouth which exposes a wide, red tongue and both the upper and lower teeth, draws the cheeks upward and makes the circular, metallic eyeballs jump out to create an overall expression of dauntlessness. The mask's nose is flat and the painted black eyebrows arch high above the eyes. While the general features of the kotobide are similar to *ootobide 大飛出, they are on a smaller scale and the kotobide has no ears and is painted a dark, red ochre. Used by the protagonists, shite シテ, in the second act of plays like KOKAJI 小鍛冶, SESSHOUSEKI 殺生石, and KAPPO 合浦. An early style kotobide mask lacking a tongue and with a down-turned mouth is housed in Hakusan Jinja 白山神社, Gifu prefecture and can be dated from its insignia to 1475. .

REFERENCES:

*kijinmen 鬼神面

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NOTES:

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