Q:  Aaron is kind enough to share his recent acquisitions once again. Here is what he has to say about this exciting Japanese mask… The black mask is indeed Japanese.  It’s an old Bugaku mask, called Somakusha.  Masks like this predate Noh theatre and were used in Shinto temple ritual dances.  Also, unlike Noh, Bugaku masks are not all made of wood.  Some are, but others (like this one) are made from kanshitsu, which is a composite made from resin and wood dust, then covered with lacquer.  Aaron, 968 A:  Traditional masks have always been of great interest to the Japanese. In addition to ritual usage, they are bought to…

Q:  I bought this mask in Bangkok at Jj mall.  The man said he brought the mask back from China.  He mentioned it was a Chinese tribal around 100 years old (unsure of how genuine he was being, but I had my Thai friend there speaking with him). I ended up paying a little over $100 US dollars.  Most of his merchandise was more expensive than this. Let me know anything else I can provide to help.  Miles, 960 A: Sorry for the bad news… Though it (the 2nd photo) is Chinese tribal, it is a recently made, cheap tourist version of a Yao mask. For comparison I’m also posting…