Cooler but still well above normal this week

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

Mona Lisa and Ko-Omote, both masks by Bidou Yamaguchi

 is a mask-maker hoping to revolutionize a six-centuries old tradition.

Yamaguchi, whose work is on display at Carleton College's art gallery as part of larger exhibition on 

, is a master in his field. He creates masks for the Hōshō school of 

in Tokyom, one of five such schools in the nation, each with it's own very distinctive styles and traditions.

The history of Japanese Noh theater goes back six centuries, and yet in that time, very little has changed. The rules of performance are strict, with archetypal characters; attending a Noh performance is considered a past-time for the upper class, similar to opera in the United States.

Noh performances traditionally incorporate masks into costumes of the different characters, with exaggerated faces depicting old men, young beauties, and evil demons. They're made from cypress wood, seashell, lacquer and sometimes hemp and horse hair.

As the theater has remained virtually unchanged, so has its masks. Yamaguchi, speaking through a translater (a Carleton art history major, Ziliang Liu) says while he's considered a great artist in his country, he feels like he and his contemporaries have been forced into being little more than technicians.

As a member of the Hōshō schoolm Yamaguchi has exclusive access to the school's original masks.

While Yamaguchi's mastery of his art form is evident in his work, he felt called to challenge himself, to work with less traditional subject matter. And so he began making masks as sculptural pieces, drawing inspiration from iconic works of western art that date back to around the time Noh theater was taking form. He made masks of women pictured in paintings by Edvard Munch, Amadeo Modigliani, and Johannes Vermeer.

Yet while he's been making these masks for several years now, Yamaguchi has yet to show his work in Japan. That will happen this May, and he admits to being nervous about public reaction.

Jeanne, by Bidou Yamaguchi, after a painting by Amadeo Modigliani

While Yamaguchi doesn't have much freedom to pursue his own work, he believes that a recent shift in power at the Hōshō school may present an opportunity for change.

Yamaguchi says he feels in some sense as though he's the only artist in the field of Noh mask-making. He wishes he and other mask-makers felt free to incorporate their own style and ideas into their work:

Yamaguchi's masks are part of the Carleton College's 

which runs through March 9. Yamaguchi will be in Minneapolis on Monday, February 21 to give a talk at the 

Art vs tradition in Japanese mask-making

Go Deeper.

Like this?

News you can use in your inbox