Minneapolis Institute of Art

Red Tengu full-face mask

Japan

Date

c. 1600

Medium

Iron with red lacquer, string

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

The prominent long beak makes this full-face mask resemble a tengu (lit. “celestial dog”), which are supernatural beings living in the mountains. The Tale of the Heike (Heike monogatari) describes tengu in detail: “human, but not human; bird, but not bird; dog, but not dog; they possess feet and hands of a human, the head of a dog, wings on both sides, and can fly as well as walk.” Tengu masks appear in festivals and performing arts of the common people. In military context, red lacquered masks are rare and so are tengu masks. An exaggerated tengu mask would be intimidating, even more so if it is red. Furthermore, it implies that the bearer would receive supernatural powers from it. Japan, Asia

The authoritative record is held by Minneapolis Institute of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.