Masks have a history almost as old as Japan itself. Originally they were used in prehistoric religious rituals beginning in the Jomon period (10,000 B.C. to 300 B.C.). Masks are alive and well in Japan today, and you can own a piece of the tradition!

After the introduction of Buddhism, masks took on more secular purposes such as the now extinct dance tradition of Gigaku and the Shinto-based Kagura dance tradition. Kagura, which tells the story of the origin of the gods and the Japanese archipelago is still performed today in Miyazaki prefecture. Noh theater and its distinctive masks developed during the Muromachi period (1336-1573) and influenced many other Japanese traditions, including the dramatic face-painting of Kabuki theater.

In the past there were only about 60 types of Noh masks (called noh-men or omote) used in the theater. Today, there are over two-hundred kinds of masks, culled from the same categories as the original sixty. Some masks represent archetypal characters, while others represent specific characters. There are also masks for non-human characters like demons (kijin), supernatural beings (onryo), or animals (like kitsune)