Noh and Kyogen Masks

by Jannette Cheong

ISBN: 9783791377537

Published: 2024-10-08

Featuring breathtaking photographs of masks created by a renowned twenty-first-century craftsman, this book provides a unique perspective into noh and kyogen, two of the oldest surviving forms of theater in the world. Kitazawa Hideta is a traditional Japanese master craftsman, Shinto-temple carver and noh mask maker who creates masks for both classical noh and kyogen theatre. This gorgeous volume features more than sixty of his performance masks, presented in striking full-page photographs that allow readers to appreciate the level of detail that goes into these meticulous creations, which are carved from hinoki wood, decorated with layers of gesso-paint, thin watercolor antiquing, and sometimes include materials such as horsehair and gold paint. Readers are introduced first to classical and then contemporary noh and kyogen masks and are then invited into Hideta's workshop to explore the characteristics of the wood he uses; the processes of creating, restoring, and wearing the...