Japanese Masks
One of the most famous Japanese demon-deities is called Tengu, a red faced demon with a long red nose, a beard and bushy eyebrows.
Actually, the earliest pictures of Tengu show him with an avian beak and feathers and these two versions of Tengu persist today as “dai Tengu” or “great tengu” and “karasu Tengu” or “crow Tengu” who is a “lesser Tengu” and still in training.
The two types of Tengu
Tengu wears a cloak and wooden “geta” sandals. Geta usually have two “wooden teeth” placed across the soles to raise them above the ground but Tengu’s geta are famous for having just a single wooden tooth.
Tengu carries a fan made of the eight-fingered leaf of a yatsude tree. The yatsude leaf helps Tengu keep his balance on his one-tooth geta and also helps him to fly.
Tengu is noted for playing tricks on people and can also be dangerous. Even so, in some agricultural areas of Japan Tengu is seen as a protective deity. Tengu is often celebrated in festivals all over Japan.
Tengu Masks
A Japanese Tengu Mask
An essential item in a Tengu festival is a Tengu mask and the most common Tengu mask has a red face and long, rather rude wooden nose. Some masks are also decorated with coarse hair to represent Tengu’s beard and eyebrows.
The other common type of Tengu mask represents “karasu-Tengu or “crow Tengu”. In this case the mask is usually painted in black, red and gold and has a prominent beak.
Tengu masks are also used in Japanese Noh theatre performances, such as in the Noh play, “Kurama-Tengu” or Tengu from Kurama
Genuine Tengu masks are made of light wood such as camphor or Japanese cypress and can cost anywhere between $50 and $1,000 depending on the craftsmanship and the materials used.
Please note that a mask specifically created for a Noh actor would cost much more than this as it is a highly skilled labour-intensive job to carve a mask to individual specifications.
The Tengu masks you can purchase on this site have been made by Japanese craftsmen for collectors with an interest in the Japanese theatre and festival traditions; the masks can be displayed as decorative pieces or worn and used in festivals and drama. They also make unique and beautiful gifts.
Masks are shipped direct from Japan by Express Mail Service.
David Hurley
