growling lion/demon face with gold and red skin, very wide nose and gold teeth; large red tongue; upper palate, irises, nostrils and ear canals cut out

%C2%A9 Yamaguchi Bidou

Noh Mask of Shishiguchi, 2004

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With bared fangs and teeth and eyes staring intensely under furrowed brows, this Shishiguchi mask appears fearsome. Although the mask has human-like features, actors wear it when performing lion characters. In the Noh play Shakkyō (Stone Bridge), a Japanese monk who travels to Mount Wutai in China attempts to cross a bridge to reach the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī’s Pure Land. As he begins to cross, a young woodcutter convinces him to refrain and wait. He then witnesses a miraculous sight: a lion dancing with peonies. He then understands this lion is Mañjuśrī’s vahana, the bodhisattva’s form of conveyance.

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Details
Title
Noh Mask of Shishiguchi
Artist Life
born 1970
Role
Artist
Accession Number
2004.206.2
Curator Approved

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growling lion/demon face with gold and red skin, very wide nose and gold teeth; large red tongue; upper palate, irises, nostrils and ear canals cut out

© Yamaguchi Bidou

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