Bugaku Masks

Article number 10125171

This work breaks new ground: it is the first in either English or Japanese to be devoted solely to Bugaku masks. The enterprise is easily justified, for the best of these masks are masterpieces of sculpture, ranking in beauty and expressiveness with those of Africa and India. Bugaku masks are worn in an ancient Japanese dance-drama that evolved in the ninth century, when dances imported in earlier times from other East Asian regions were combined and modified to suit Japanese tastes. This elegant dance-drama, called Bugaku, is still performed today, little changed from when it was a favorite pastime of the tenth-century Heian court. The masks themselves are thought to be the stylized and Japanized descendants of those masks—none of which survive—brought over with the original dances. Many of the outstanding Bugaku masks date from the eleventh and twelfth centuries and were made in the cultural centers, chiefly Kyoto. As Bugaku slowly lost its court patronage in the following two centuries, the musicians and dancers moved to the provinces, where the masks were modified and new forms emerged. From the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries Bugaku experienced a revival, and masks equal in technique and style to the best work of earlier periods resulted. Refined or boldly dynamic, grotesque or subtly eloquent—the great range and artistic excellence of Bugaku masks are exemplified by those shown on the back of the jacket. The twelfth-century mask on the front jacket exhibits one feature unique among Japanese masks—eyes and chin that sway to the rhythm of the dancer's movements and bring the mask alive. This and other devices are described and illustrated in a chapter on the technical aspects of mask-making. Inscriptions on masks and the few known carvers are also discussed, as well as the relationship of Bugaku masks to other types of Japanese mask. A concise yet comprehensive treatment of all facets of the subject, this volume is amply illustrated with over 25 color and 150 black-and-white plates. CONTENTS Table of Japanese Art Periods List of Illustrations Introduction: The Bugaku Dance by Monica Bethe 1 Historical Background 2 Types of Masks 3 Masks in the Provinces 4 Technical Aspects 5 Inscriptions and Mask Carvers Appendix 1: Places to See Performances and Masks Appendix 2: Datable Masks Appendix 3: Bugaku Masks in Japan List of Illustrations in Japanese Glossary Bibliography Index