jidou　慈童

KEY WORD :　art history / sculptures

A noh mask *noumen 能面 representing a sprite who possesses the elixir of long life. The mouth and eyes curl into a smile accentuated by dimples in the full cheeks. Wispy eyebrows swerve up at the outer corners and strands of hair fall down over the forehead. Created earlier than *douji 童子 and primarily for the role of the 'seven-hundred-year-old youth' appearing in KIKUJIDOU 菊慈童 and MAKURAJIDOU 枕慈童, jidou is the Kanze 観世 school alternative to douji. Today, however, actors of all schools may choose between either mask type according to their interpretation of the role. Jidou may also be used for other Chinese youths, like the 'drum boy' who descends from the stars to dance in TENKO 天鼓 (The Heavenly Drum). The Kanze family in Tokyo owns a fine Muromachi period example with the name of the mask maker Ishikawa Tatsuemon 石川龍右衛門 (see *jissaku 十作 ) carved in the back of the forehead, though this inscription is likely to be a later addition. A variant with the tongue visible is shitadashi jidou 舌出慈童.

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