Masks ("MEN" in japanese)...What is this?

• We produce only PAPER CRAFTED MASKs below.
  
  
  
  
• Common instruction.
  
  • Masks made of clay, dry lacquer, cloth, paper, or wood have long been an integral part of Japanese dance, ritual, festivals, and religious ceremony.

  • They reflect traditions from the Asian continet as well as indigenous ones.

  • Masks from as early as the 7th century are preserved in temples, shrines, and museums, and new ones are still being modeled on them for performances today.

  • Although clay masks dating from the late Jomon priod(ca 10,000bc - ca 300 bc)have been unearthed, the majority of Japanese masks are arved from wood and sometimes painted with a layer of lacquer.

  • They are primed with kaolin or powdered chalk and finally coated with polychrome pigments. The modern mask carver usesessentially the same techniques developed 500 years ago.