CHUJO 能面 中将 woodcarving

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Chujo Noh mask, woodcarving mask imported from Japan. Super quality mask for collectors.

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300,00 € VAT incl.

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This mask takes its name from the talented Heian poet Ariwara no Narihira, on whom it was modeled. Narihira was also a lieutenant-general (chujo) of the fifth rank. Born into a family of imperial blood, he was reputedly as ardent a lovers as a poet, and had a particularly famous affair with the emperors consort recounted in the tales of Ise. In the Noh play Oshio, which unfolds amid recollections of this love, the mask appears in the role of Narihira himself.
Chujo demands the subtly sensuous, refined demeanor of a young nobleman.
These are handsome, symmetrical features, indicating a man of learning and intellect.
The worried frown suggest, though, that his life has not been without trials. Those furrows between the brows demand particulary delicate work from the maskmaker, while features such as the mouth and chin incorporate forms from onna-men. This mask; combining digninty and grief, is also used for other noblement of the dazzling but ultimately doomed Heike in plays such as Kiyotsune and Tadanori.