Japanese Kyogen Fox Mask

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Japanese Kyogen Fox Mask

About the Item

Japanese carved wood mask of a fox for Kyogen performances. The mask with a very long snout and finely painted hair. The fox (kitsune) is the guardian spirit of the rice fields and herald-messenger (misaki) to the Shinto rice god, Inari Myôjin. In popular fables the fox also commonly appears as a trickster able to assume human form. The fox appears in several Kyogen plays but perhaps most famously as the old fox in Tsurigitsune (The Fox and the Trapper). Tsurigitsune (The Fox and the Trapper) is by far the most important role of passage in the kyogen actor's career. It is the final requisite piece of the young actor, completing his transition from apprenticeship to mastery. It is a rite of passage that all professionals must complete. Not all aspirants are able to perform it, as the steps toward its completion require stages of permission. The teacher grants permission to the disciple to train in it; the student then trains for at least a year. The teacher then grants permission for the student to perform it. This permission is granted only when the master is confident that the disciple can perform it correctly.

Kyogen theater is closely associated with Nō drama, where it often acts as a comic interlude or foil to the severity and solemn nature of the Nō performance between Nō acts and during intermissions. Nō and Kyogen originally encompassed in one form of theater called Sarugaku based on a form of Chinese theater introduced in the 8th century. Over the centuries the comic and serious elements of the theater began to separate and by the 14th century Sarugaku had separated into two distinct forms; Nō and Kyogen. Kyogen would go on to heavily influence kabuki during the kabuki theater’s 17th century reforms. Kabuki had previously been outlawed because of lewdness.

With accompanying box.

Materials and Techniques:
Wood
Place of Origin:
Japan
Period:
19th Century
Date of Manufacture:
Meiji Period (1868-1912)
Condition:
Minor wear from use.
Seller Location:
Seattle, WA
Reference Number:
Seller: HA301stDibs: 090420865814