LECTURE

Carving Masks, Making Textiles:
Lecture and Demonstration by Hideta Kitazawa and Miyoko Yoshiya

thursday, June 26, 2025
7PM-8:30PM (PDT)

The Japan foundation, los angeles

(5700 wilshire blvd, ste 100, Los angeles CA 90036)

Free Admission

RSVP REQUIRED

Noh theater is a traditional Japanese performing art that is characterized by stylized movements and a distinct form of singing. While the performers wear carefully-carved masks to depict certain character types, they emote by adjusting the angle from which the audience can see their mask. The clothing, too, impacts how the audience perceives specific characters as the patterning in Noh costumes convey identity and meaning. 

Hideta Kitazawa will introduce the world of Noh masks, including the types of mask and the characters they are intended to portray. Then, through a live demonstration, he will show the techniques used by traditional woodworking artisans to strip away raw material and reveal the mask that is at the heart of the wood. He will also present some of his more recent creations inspired by contemporary characters.

Miyoko Yoshiya will first explore the traditional patterns used in Noh costumes. Then, she will talk about her own journey as an artist and her unique approach to textiles that draws on a sensitivity from being born and raised in Japan. The ultra-thin cloth felts that Miyoko produces, made from domestic Kawamata silk, can be compared to Japanese paper in that they have a gentle and warm texture.

ABOUT THE ARTISANS:

Hideta Kitazawa is a wood sculptor and Noh mask maker based in Tokyo. He learned traditional wood carving of Buddhist and Shinto statuary from his father, KITAZAWA Ikkyo, and later studied Noh mask carving. He currently produces classical Noh and Kyogen masks and has been designated a master craftsman by the Tokyo Metropolitan government. KITAZAWA has also created numerous shinsaku - “new” - masks for foreign-language Noh productions, notably those of Theatre Nohgaku, as well as for other Noh-influenced plays including “Blue Moon over Memphis “ performed at UCLA in October 2018 and at Waseda University and Kongo Noh theater in July 2024. He has given workshops and demonstrations in Japan and internationally, and a book on his work entitled Noh and Kyogen Masks was published by Prestel in September 2024.

After graduating from Aoyama Gakuin Women's Junior College with a degree in child education, Miyoko Yoshiya worked at a kindergarten. While working at a kindergarten, she began studying textiles on her own. In 1996, she graduated from Otsuka Textile Design College, and in 1997, she began making 'silk-screened and hand-dyed' cloth felt. Since then, she has been making thin, light, and warm fabrics using natural materials, especially silk and wool. From 1998 to 2005, she won many awards at the Japan Creation Textile Contest, including the Excellence Award and the Division Award. Since 2000, she has held numerous solo and group exhibitions throughout Japan. From 1997 to 2014, she was a lecturer at Otsuka Gakuin. She is currently an instructor at Smile Studio TAKANO.

This event is offered through a partnership with the Yanai Initiative for Globalizing Japanese Humanities.