Bugaku mask, smiling old man - possibly winebearer (heishitori)

Bugaku is a style of dance established and performed in Korea, China, India and other East Asia countries. In the 9th century, the reformation of the dance led to bugaku becoming a national ceremonial dance at the Japanese imperial court, accompanied by gagaku, court ceremonial music. During the civil war in the 16th century, the style was in decline, threatening to disappear completely, but it was recovered in the early modern period and continues to be performed by imperial court musicians today.

Bugaku performance is characterised by two groups called samai (left dance) and umai (right dance), in which performers assemble symmetrically left and right. Each group performs separately, and their performing styles and music are different. This symmetric formation was produced based on the yin-yang principle, oriented left and right respectively.

During the Kamakura period (1185-1333), bugaku performance spread throughout local regions in Japan. Around 800 bugaku masks have been found throughout the archipelago, from Aomori in the north to Miyazaki in the south. In earlier periods, masks were made by professional court artists, but when the performance was disseminated widely to local areas, sculptors of Buddha statues began the production of local masks.

This mask can possibly be identified as heishitori (wine bottle bearer), a character used as part of a comical ‘drunk’ performance. A heishitori actor comes to the stage with the sake bottle and pours sake for other performers, who are playing as guests. When everyone is drunk, heishitori secretly also drinks sake and gets heavily drunk. The mask always shows a smiling expression with teeth showing. The style of this mask shows that it was possibly made for a local theatre around the Kamakura period, when bugaku performances were at their most popular.

Ryoko Matsuba, June 2022