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Gigaku

The oldest existing masks in any quantity are those used in gigaku. Gigaku is an ancient dance drama that was brought to Japan from the mainland in the early 7th century. Tradition has it that a person named Mimashi had brought the dance dramas from what is now Korea, but that he had learned them from the region of Wu in China. These dances flourished during the Nara period and continued until the Edo period when the tradition died out. It appears that these masked dance performances were mime or dance processionals accompanied by music. There is an excellent set of camphor wood gigaku masks, about 150 in number, that are in the Shosoin repository of Todaiji temple. Gigaku performances were sung accompanied by flute, tsutsumi drum and cymbals. There are existing manuscripts for the music, but there is little to describe the nature of the gigaku dancing. Gigaku masks are different from subsequent masks.They cover the head including the ears, while later masks only cover the face. There are fourteen different gigaku masks composed in a set. Many of the masks have large proboscis. Gigaku masks were generally made from paulownia wood, although there are examples of dry lacquer masks. Because gigaku was a dance drama, a more dramatic expression was carved into the mask. Shadings, and black outlines around the features heightened that drama. Hair was also pasted on some masks. Different mask styles include: lion heads, bird-beaked creatures, demons and superhumans. Gigaku mask designs seemed to have been influenced by a number of cultures on the mainland including, India, present day Indonesia, and China.

For more information on the masks of Japan, read The Masks of Japan.