No Mask for the Role of Yase onna

Deme Yūkan Mitsuyasu, c. 1600 - in or before 1652

This mask worn in Japanese No theatre belongs to the character Yase onna, ‘Emaciated Woman’. This is the spirit of a woman who suffered a tragic love affair during her life, and whose soul is tormented by the great loss of her lover. The mask’s subtle rendering of her expression in no way diminishes its intensity.

  • Artwork typemask, sculpture
  • Object numberAK-MAK-125
  • Dimensionsheight 21.2 cm x width 14.3 cm x depth 6.6 cm
  • Physical characteristicswood, pigment

Identification

  • Title(s)

    • Yase onna
    • No Mask for the Role of Yase onna

  • Object type

  • Object number

    AK-MAK-125

  • Description

    Houten nō-masker met polychromie voor de rol van Yase onna, 'Magere vrouw', een vrouw van middelbare leeftijd met open mond. Aan de binnenkant onderaan de neus drie schuine insnijdingen en gegraveerd zegel '友閑', 'Yūkan'. Beschadigingen aan voorhoofd, neus en rond mond.

Creation

  • Creation

    maker: Deme Yūkan Mitsuyasu, Japan

  • Dating

    c. 1600 - in or before 1652

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Material and technique

  • Physical description

    wood, pigment

  • Dimensions

    height 21.2 cm x width 14.3 cm x depth 6.6 cm

Acquisition and rights

  • Credit line

    On loan from the Royal Asian Art Society in The Netherlands (purchase Tsuruki, Kyoto, 1930)

  • Copyright

    Public domain

  • Provenance

    …; from the dealer Tsuruki, Kyoto, ¥ 600 with 4 other objects (deaccessed in 1951 to Lemaire), 1930 to the Vereniging van Vrienden der Aziatische Kunst;{Note RMA}; from whom on loan from to the museum, 1972

Documentation

  • H. Nishino, 'De No-maskers van het Rijksmuseum Amsterdam', Aziatische Kunst 28 (1998), nr. 4, p. 33-36.

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  • No Mask for the Role of Yase onna
  • No Mask for the Role of Yase onna