noh mask
Japanese theater face
A noh mask is a carved wooden face covering worn by performers in noh, the classical Japanese dramatic art.
Each mask represents a specific character type—demons, old men, young women, spirits—and the actor's subtle head movements make the fixed expression appear to shift between emotions.
The masks are prized as art objects: a museum collection of antique noh masks.
- traditional JapaneseTime-honored practices from Japan
- kabukiRitualistic performance for show
- bunrakuMulti-puppeteer Japanese theater
- theaterVenue for live drama
- JapanEast Asian archipelago nation
wooden · carved · demon · spirit · old man · human face · lacquered · cypress · expression · haunting · ritual · sacred object · performer · shite · costume · silk · ceremony · ancestral
theatrical concealment vs. revelation
noh maskkabuki makeup
Traditional Japanese theatrical face paint
bare face · stage makeup · greasepaint · painted face · face paint