能面創作の心理

Abstract

That masks are regularly worn is one et the chief charcteristics of the Noh. But as to the reason why they were devised there goes round a traditional fallacy-that they are employed to keep back the actor's emotional mood, corresponding to the general spirit of the Noh.I maintain an opposite view. In my opinion, human faces are not so expressive as they are usually believed to be. For even the most skilled actors can show only a few kinds 01 expression in their faces: Sometimes it is impossible for us to detect any difference between their smiling faces and tearful ones. To our great inconvenience, we have each one face only, and so a certain actor can not take the part of Falstaff, though he may boast of his Hamlet. To make up for the inconvenience of faces the Noh mask was invented, by which we may be sure to remove the limit of race, sex, and age.If the Noh mask has any defect it must be the impossibility of moving the eyes and lips.But we have a compensation for that, that is vacantlooking eyes and half-opened lips. If an actor wishes to gaze at something on the stage he needs only to give , his mask a little motion to impress us with an idea that the eyes are staring fixedly at, that Very thing. And the half-opened lips are so dexterously contrived that, when the mask is faced downwards, the lips may seem to be shut and when faced upwards to be opened amiably.This invention came from the necessity of applying one mask to every case, and the art of Noh mask carving was completed when it reached this invention which I call the non-expressionism of the Noh mask, because it seems very plain when the special motions are not given to it.We find such non-expressionism in almost all types of masks representing young women (Zoh, Ko-omotc, Shakumi, Fukai, etc.) and those representing young men (Kantan-otoko, Sumlyoshi-otoko, Chujoh , Ima-waka, Dohji,fidoh, Kasshiki, Herta, etc,). However there are other types of Noll masks-God masks (Tobide, Tenjin, Mikazuki, etc.), and Demon masks (Beshimi, Shikami, Shishi-guchi, Hannya, fa, etc.). These are, generally speaking, imitation of the ancient Gigaku masks and and Bugaku masks, in which we can trace the influence of the masks of the Western Regions, especially Babylonia and Assyria. These imitation masks represent each a momentary and exaggerated emotion and are invented to give superhuman dignity and terror to the expression. They can scarcely be called genenuin Japanese masks. In short, when the Noh mask thought of its long-forgotten purpose, it gave up an attempt to make itself a chef d'oeuvre and was contented itself with its lot as a theatrical medium, whence its essential beauty developed.