William Vollmann - Kissing the Mask - Beauty, Understatement and Femininity in Japanese Noh Theater, with Some Thoughts on Muses (Especially Helga Testorf), Transgender Women, ... Geishas, Valkyries and Venus Figurines

66: Types of masks — Takaoka et al., unnumbered p. in ch. “A way into another world…”; also, Kodama, pp. 151–53.

66: Footnote: Utamaro’s three best types of vulva — Uhlenbeck and Winkel, p. 119.

66: Ochie of Koiseya — Utamaro (Sato Takanobu), trans. Yasuda Nobuko. Picture 6: Edokoumeibijin; Kobikichoushinyashiki; Koiseya Ochie, around Kansei 4–5 (1792–93). Large Nishikie. Chiba City Museum of Art.

67: The way that old women in their late twenties arrange their hair in the oomarumage style — Ibid. Picture 11: Kasenkoinobu Fukakushinobukoi. Around Kansei 5–6 (1793–94). Large Nishikie. National Museum of Asian Art-Guimet.

67: The shaved eyebrows and shimadakuzushi hairstyle of a certain Utamaro beauty — Ibid. Picture 10: Kasenkoinobu Monoomoukoi. Around Kansei 5–6 (1793–94). Large Nishikie. National Museum of Asian Art-Guimet.

67: Description of the kohime — Hori, Masuda and Miyano, trans. for WTV by Yasuda Nobuko and slightly rev. by WTV; p. 28. My visual description comes from the accompanying plate.

67: Kanze Motoakira and the Noh canon — Rath, pp. 199–203.

68: Other remarks of Mr. Mikata (excepting the fn. remark on the maidservant’s mask in “Kinuta,” which took place in 2006) — From the 2004 Kyoto interview.

68: Mr. Mikata Shizuka’s choice of masks for “Michimori” — Interview in Jumenji Temple, Kyoto the day after the performance (October 2006).

68: Ms. Nakamura Mitsue’s remarks about masks in this section — From an interview in her studio in Kyoto, October 2006.

69: The plump-cheeked, snow-skinned girl in the Genji Picture-Scroll — Genji Monogatari Emaki , Tokugawa Museum version, p. 182

69: The “hard” ko-omote — Kanze, Hayashi and Matsuda, pbk. commentary vol., p. 24.

69: Otsuka Ryoji — Interviewed in his studio in Shimada, 2004.

69: “In what I do, beauty is about millimeters.” — New Beauty , winter-spring 2008, p. 200 (advertisement for Dr. Daniel Shapiro).

69: Mr. Kanze Hideo — Interviewed in the lobby of his hotel in Kyoto, May 2005.

70: Waka-onna in “Izutsu” and “Eguchi” — Kanze, Hayashi and Matsuda, pbk. commentary vol., p. 23.

70: Miscellaneous other characteristics of same mask — Dictionary of Japanese Art Terms , p. 594.

70: Use of the magojiro to play Yuya — Nakanishi and Kiyonori, p. 123.

70: “Both his acting and his singing should probably be classed at the rank of the tranquil flower.” — Hare, p. 30.

70: “The delicate red on the cheeks of this mask…” — Hori, Masuda and Miyano, trans. for WTV by Yasuda Nobuko and slightly rev. by WTV; p. 58 (words of Katayama Kurouemon).

71: Maeshite of “Kinuta” ’s representation by a fukai — Mr. Mikata Shizuka remarked that the mask representing her “has to be an old lady, and we have only have three here. Among them, we have to choose.” In another interview he spoke of the maidservant, saying that her role would be well served by a ko-omote mask in order to delicately express the possibility that the absent husband had transferred his affections to her.

71: Choice of masks for “Miidera” — Bethe and Emmert, Noh Guide 3, p. 5.

72: “Eyebrows convey different emotions” — Aucoin, p. 115.

72: Description of the masukami mask — After Nakanishi and Kiyomori, p. 76 (plate 81; attributed to Tatsuemon). Hori, Masuda and Miyano speculatively derive the name from Masuho, meaning the hair is like grass waving in the wind (p. 72).

72: Description of the manbi mask — Ibid., p. 78 (plate 83, by Shimotsuna Shoshin).

72: “How can charm be expressed?…” — Hori, Masuda and Miyano, trans. for WTV by Yasuda Nobuko and slightly rev. by WTV; p. 40.

73: “ Uba ” as used by Hokusai — Hokusai, One Hundred Poets , pp. 7, 9 (introduction).

73: Use of uba or rojo to portray Komachi — Rath, p. 15.

73: “Inner elegance” of rojo — Takeda and Bethe, p. 253 (checklist of the exhibition).

74: Employment of a deigan in “Kinuta” — Kanze, Hayashi and Matsuda, pbk. commentary vol., p. 34.

74: Description of the seventeenth-century deigan by Genkyu Mitsunaga — After Tokugawa Art Museum, Noh Masks and Costumes , p. 39 (plate 74).

74: “Particularly famous as a mask embodying a woman’s hatred and sorrow.” — Kodama, p. 153.

74: “The hannia in Awoi no Uye is lofty in feeling…” — Pound and Fenollosa, p. 32.

75: Footnote: Ja, hannya or omi-onna mask for “Dojoji” — Nakanashi and Komma, pp. 122–23.

75: Use of ryo-no-onna to represent Unai-otome — Kanze, Hayashi and Matsuda, pbk commentary vol., p. 25.

75: “Calm, almost rectangular pupil openings” of yase-onna — Takeda and Bethe, p. 253 (checklist of the exhibition).

75: Cited use of yase-onna — Dictionary of Japanese Art Terms, pp. 629–30.

75: Yase-onna : Anecdotes of Himi, Kanze Hisao — Hori, Masuda and Miyano, trans. for WTV by Yasuda Nobuko; p. 74.

75: Footnote: “A young male role that has both secular and religious aspects.” — Kodama, p. 151.

76: Use of the higaki-no-onna — Kanze, Hayashi and Matsuda, pbk. commentary vol., p. 35.

4: A BRANCH OF FLOWERS

85: Characteristics of a successful play of the first rank — Zeami (Rimer and Yamazaki), p. 44 (“Fushikaden”). Such terms as “Flower” and “Grace” are capitalized in these translations. I have elected not to follow that usage, since other translations I cite do not.

85: Seasons of the flower; flower, charm and novelty; “a flower blooming in the rocks” — Ibid., pp. 52–54 (“Fushikaden”).

86: Deliberate reintroduction of impurity — Ibid., p. 67 (“Shikado”).

86: “The flower does not exist as a separate entity.” — Ibid., p. 62 (“Fushikaden”).

86: “A flower blooms by maintaining secrecy.” — Ibid., p. 59 (“Fushikaden”).

86: “Stage characters such as Ladies-in-Waiting…” — Ibid., p. 47 (“Fushikaden”).

86: “Dignified and mild appearance…” — Zeami (Rimer and Yamazaki), p. 93 (“Kakyo”).

87: “Roles requiring great taste and elegance…” — Ibid., p. 65 (“Shikado”).

87: The five skills of dancing — Ibid., p. 80 (“Kakyo”).

87: Rules for performing a woman’s role — Ibid., p. 76 (“Kakyo”); p. 227 (“Sarugaku dangi”).

87: “It should seem as though each were holding a branch of flowers in his hand.” — Ibid., p. 94 (“Kakyo”). In 2005 I asked Mr. Mikata how he carried his branch of flowers, and he replied: “For example, in ‘Fushikaden’ it tells how to play a demon. To express your demon, you must be not only just strong but even a rock,” he said, spreading his hands, “as if a flower comes out of rock. An old person, it’s as if a flower is coming out of an old tree.” — “So if you were portraying a very ferocious demon,” I asked, “would you make the demon less harsh?” — “No,” he replied. “Well, of course you play to your utmost, but your core strength and your real strength are different. Although you subdue your movements, the real strength can still be expressed. Strongly performing those actions is not the best.”

87: Footnote: Renoir: “For a battle piece to be good…” — Malraux, p. 353.

88: Footnote on the demonic grace of Lady Rokujo — Bethe and Emmert, Noh Guide 7, p. 64.

89: “He must not fail to retain a tender heart.” — Zeami (Rimer and Yamazaki), p. 58 (“Fushikaden”).

89: “If the motion is more restrained than the emotion behind it…” — Ibid., p. 74 (“Kakyo”).