kyougenmen　狂言面

KEY WORD :　art history / sculptures

Masks used for kyougen 狂言 plays. Kyougen is a comic theatre form, which together with the more serious *nou 能, was known as sarugaku 猿楽 (monkey music) during the Muromachi period. About 50 plays in the kyougen repertoire have masked characters, and there are about 30 different types of masks. As in nou theatre, the form of each type of mask is specified by tradition, but carvers of kyougen masks have a greater degree of freedom to vary features and expression. Masks are used to play deities like the god of fortune *fuku-no-kami 福の神, demons *buaku 武悪, and some human roles such as old men *ooji 祖父, old nuns *ama 尼, and young women *oto 乙. There are also animal masks including the badger tanuki 狸, fox *kitsune 狐 and monkey *saru 猿, who are sometimes very realistically carved. Kyougen is usually performed in conjunction with nou providing a light-hearted interlude to serious nou plays, and the expressions of kyougen masks are designed to be a complete contrast to their nou counterparts. They can be droll, rustic, good-humoured, clumsily lopsided or cross-eyed, familiarly realistic or eccentric. Gods and demons show endearing human foibles, while young women have puffy round cheeks or stick out their tongues. Kyougen masks were carved from wood; the back of the mask was often lacquered, and multiple layers of *gofun 胡粉 (usually powdered oyster-shell) mixed with animal glue *nikawa 膠, were applied to the face before painting. The most common wood was Japanese cypress hinoki 桧, although other woods such as Judas tree katsura 桂, magnolia hou-no-ki 朴の木 and paulownia kiri 桐 were sometimes used. Katsura had the advantages of being strong, lightweight, and taking paint well. However, it exuded a resin which could seep out and damage the surface of the mask. Some masks such as that of　*daikoku 大黒 and *noborihige 登髭 have implanted horse hair, and demons often have metal eyes and teeth. Kyougenmen are smaller than *gigakumen 伎楽面 and *bugakumen 舞楽面; they fit in front of the face without covering the head. Since the masks are sometimes taken on and off on stage as part of the performance, it is important that they are small enough to be held in one hand. Many masks from the 16-19c are preserved today and can be seen in actors' private collections, such as those of the Shigeyama 茂山 and Nomura 野村 families, in museums like the Tokyo National Museum, or in temples and shrines like Mibudera 壬生寺 in Kyoto.

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*noumen 能面

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