imawaka　今若

KEY WORD :　art history / sculptures

A noh mask *noumen 能面 representing a young man of noble birth. Very similar to *chuujou 中将, it bears the refined features of a well-bred, sensitive man. The eyes look down, and furrows above the nose bridge evoke a melancholy nature. A black rim at the top of the mask indicates the base of a courtier's cap and parallel horizontal side hairs suggest hair pulled back and bound in samurai 侍 style. Different from chuujou in that the eyebrows are set higher and that the cheeks bear clear muscle indentations. Used in a wide variety of young men's roles particularly by the Kanze 観世 school: for the ghost of Ariwara no Narihira 在原業平 in URIN'IN 雲林院 or of Ono no Yorikaze 小野頼風 in OMINAMESHI 女郎花, and sometimes also for gentle Heike 平家 courtier-warriors, as in KIYOTSUNE 清常 or TADANORI 忠度. Mask type attributed to Yasha 夜叉 (14c; see *jissaku 十作).

REFERENCES:

*otokomen 男面, *juuroku 十六, *wakaotoko 若男.

EXTERNAL LINKS:

NOTES:

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