NOH
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TIMELINE:
Before 1575:
Names of the masks that were used today, were believed to be developed during the later stage of Muromachi period (1392-1573). Religious have a stronger relations with the conventions of the masks as compared to the rest and it was during this period where the religious aspect began to grow and more characteristics of human was took on.
In 1600s:
Performers started to make use of their mysterious beauty also known as yūgen as they felt that by hiding their unattractive side of their faces, it would allow them to focus on the beauty of Noh, to make it look stronger.
Between 1900s till 2000s:
The making of noh masks was considered as a form of hereditary art between muromachi period and the modern age. For instance, the Fukui prefecture today known as the Deme family from Echizen and the Shiga prefecture today known as the Iseki family from Ohmi. With the establishment of families making noh mask, the style of noh masks improved significantly even until today.
After 2000s:
There are still lots of independent mask makers today and some masks for performance today were still handmade by some nohgaku performers. This is extremely important because for one to truly know the process of mask making, one would then able to unleash the true emotion behind it.