Art Time-Traveller

The Two-Faced Noh Mask: Tradition and Innovation (1x10)

: 14, 2015

Japan's traditional performance art of Noh is an alluring expression of beauty. It originated over 1000 years ago and has continued in its current form, uninterrupted, for 600 years, making it the world's longest existing performance art. Noh is known for the masks worn by actors throughout the performance. The Noh mask has preserved its tradition by perfectly imitating the honmen, or true mask masterpiece, made before the 16th century. But in recent years, Noh mask craftsman Bidou Yamaguchi has been gaining worldwide attention for his masks based on western paintings such as Mona Lisa. He creates these innovative masks using traditional Noh-mask-making techniques. In this episode, we will dive into the beauty of the Noh mask, as tradition and innovation both vie to take center stage.