Japanese Masks: Noh Masks - Zekan and Kawachi

Zeami (?-1443), an accomplished Noh actor and playwright in the Muromachi period, wrote a book about Sarugaku theater, the prototype of Noh. This book lists masters of Noh and Kyogen mask-making such as Tatsuemon and Shakuzuru. Yet, details about these masters are uncertain, and masks with definitively known creators are rare.

In the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1573-1603), a powerful military commander Toyotomi Hideyoshi became a serious Noh devotee and more feudal lords came to appreciate Noh. Noh eventually became the official music and dance played in public ceremonies for the warrior class. Due to the increased demand for Noh and Kyogen masks, three mask-making families emerged who inherited and passed on methods of creating Noh masks: the Echizendeme, Onodeme, and Omiiseki families. Their primary mission was to copy treasured masks in various parts of the country, including those owned by the major head families of Noh, such as the Kanze, Konparu, Kongo, and Hosho families. In particular, Zekan (?-1616), the founder of the Onodeme family, and Kawachi (?-1657?), the fourth head of the Omiiseki family, have been highly acclaimed as mask-making masters since their lifetimes. However, it is not easy to identify masks created by these two masters from those that were faithfully copied by masters of the later generations.

With the help of one of today's renowned mask-makers, Mr. Arai Tatsuya, this exhibition attempts to distinguish between Noh masks created by the two masters, Zekan and Kawachi, and to analyze their characteristics.