Hello, I'm Mariko♡
Ha-ha! Am I scary?
I'm wearing a Noh mask.
Noh is Japan's oldest form theatrical art with performance, dance & music. It was listed for UNESCO world heritage with Kyogen in 2001. Most Noh repertoires have stories in them, but some only do abstract plots such as admiring beauty of iris flowers or thanking or praying for rich harvest.
It's formally played on the special Noh stage with a roof.
A main role or main roles of Noh wear special masks made of wood. Fortunately I had a chance to visit an atelier of Noh mask artist, Ms. Nakamura. (Sorry, but Japanese only.)
Wow∑o(*'o'*)o!!
Many masks welcomed me,
but some of them seemed
to have agony and
some to be sad.
Ms. Nakamura showed the process.
The Noh performers do not change their masks during the play. So a mask must not have only a kind of emotion with it.
It changes the expression when a performer moves, and it's possible because Noh masks are stereoscopic.
She looks
smiling to me.
What do you
think?
5 comments:
Hi Mariko. What a surprise to see these pictures! I immediately recognized Nakamura-sensei's unfinished masks. I visited Nakamura's house in April 2007, she is a very talented mask-carver, indeed! Are you having classes with her?
Hello, diego. Oh, my goodness!! You visit Nakamura sensei's house, too! I'm not her student, a friend of her daughter's. I asked her daughter to let me visit the atelier as I'm so much interested in Noh. Thanks for leaving a commenet! I shall tell this surprise to Nakamura sensei♪
Dear Mariko,
Congratulation with your blog.
As I'm very interested in Japanese culture in general and Noh more specifically, I was impressed with your article of Ms. Nakamura. I saw her [Japanese only] site, so I was wondering if there is any way for no-Japanese like me to communicate or to arrange a visit. I visit Japan 4-5 times per year for professional reasons. Of course I can ask my Japanese colleagues to help me, but this way is more fun :-)
Dear Bert san,
I'm sooooo sorry that I didn't notice your comment till now!!
Ms. Nakamura does not speak English, so you need someone to translate.
If you want me to arrange it, let me know. ;D I don't know if she accepts it, but I can try!
Dear Mariko,
No problem at all!! In the mean time I got some help from my Japanese colleagues. I could visit Nakamura sensei's house in February 2009 and .... I bought the syakumi,曲見 mask. The one on page 14 of her book, the same one featuring on the web site. It has now a very special place in my house. I'm very exited about her skill but most of all about her sense, she is so much well balanced. We had a very good conversation. At that time I took the shinkansen from Yokohama together with a translator, a friend of a colleague. Since I would like to visit her again in August 2009 may be you could help me with this visit as translator?
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