shakumi　曲見

KEY WORD :　 art history / sculptures

Oblique glance. A noh mask *noumen 能面 representing a middle-aged woman torn by separation from a loved one, either man or child. Compared to the other main middle-aged woman's mask *fukai 深井, the expression of shakumi is more tearful, her anxiety greater. This is most evident in the down-cast eyes with heavy double-fold eye lids and curved eyeballs. Thick lips and muscle dents in the lower cheeks heighten the sense of age and suffering. The hair line, with loose strands emerging only slightly distanced from the parting, distinguishes this mask. The mask type was created by Ishikawa Tatsuemon 石川龍右衛門, and a fine example with his inscription remains with the Kongou 金剛 family in Kyoto. Shakumi is the standard mask for roles of mothers who have lost their child in plays like SUMIDAGAWA 隅田川 (Sumida River) or HYAKUMAN 百万 (Million), or wives separated from their husbands, in plays like KINUTA 砧 (The Fulling Block). used by the Kongou, Konparu 金春, and Kita 喜多 schools, though Kanze 観世 and Houshou 宝生 schools may use it as an alternative to fukai. Variations include the Houshou school shiro (white) shakumi 白曲見 and the Konparu school waka (young) shakumi 若曲見 and fuka (old) shaskumi 深曲見.

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*onnamen 女面

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