Excellent mask from "Kyōgen" theatre, 17th century ·  Japan · ID: 3052626

Description

lightweight wood (typically cypress), with remains of gofun (crushed oyster shell) and polychrome decoration using mineral pigments, rest., base

It is likely a variant of the “buaku” mask character (“bu” = warrior, “aku” = evil), representing a “pugnacious ruffian”, which appears in “Kyōgen” plays (according to F. Perzynski, p. 95).

“Kyōgen” is a traditional form of early Japanese theatre that developed alongside “Nō” theatre in the mid-14th century. The cheerful, often satirical character of “Kyōgen” plays stands in deliberate contrast to the “Nō” dramas, with their serious and idealizing themes.

Comparing literature

Perzynski, Friedrich, Japanische Masken, Zweiter Band, Berlin, Leipzig 1925, p. 95