LECTURE

Noh Mask Carving:
A Lecture and Demonstration by Hideta Kitazawa

wednesday, June 25, 2025
3PM-4PM (PDT)

lamanda park library

(140 South altadena, pasadena, ca 91107)

Free Admission

RSVP REQUIRED

Noh theater is a traditional Japanese performing art that is characterised by stylised 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.

Hideta Kitazawa will introduce the fascinating world of Noh masks, demonstrating the techniques used to make them while offering a rare chance to take a closer look at these wooden works of art. He will also present some of his more recent creations inspired by contemporary characters.

ABOUT THE ARTISAN:

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.

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