A carved wood Noh-men Mask of a playful spirit named Shojo who loves drinking Sake.Carved wood covered with Gofun and mineral pigments, 20th century.It is 20.8 x 13.5 cm and in overall fine condition bearing the carvers seal in the back.
In the Noph Play Shojo (also called Midare or Shojo Midare) A young man named Kofu living at the foot of Mt. Kanekin in China is a virtuous and dutiful son and as a reward for these traits he is granted a dream oracle in which he is advised to open a wine shop near the Yangtze River. He does so and becomes very prosperous. One day a stranger comes to the shop. No matter how much he drinks his complexion never changes and he never seems to become drunk. When Kofu asks his name he says he is Shojo and that he lives in the sea. Shojo invites Kofu to meet him at the Bay of Jinyo on the western part of the Yangtze River.He admires the moon as he waits at the appointed place and anticipates the pleasure of drinking wine with his friend. Shojo enters and the chorus describes wine as a medicine or elixir with the power to keep those who drink it from aging. Shojo offers to dance in celebration of their friendship. With the sound of the booming of the waves as a drum and the wind through the waves as a flute to accompany him, he dances: now on the beach, now in the surf along the Bay. His dance ends, but before he leaves he praises Kofu for his obedient heart and as a gift he presents him with a jar of wine which will never run dry. He dips the wine and drinks, then with faltering steps sinks down to rest. When Kofu himself awakens from his drunken slumber he finds that the Shojo has disappeared, but the jar of wine remains, a spring of wine that will be inexhaustible for generations to come.
