kentoku 賢徳

Also written 見徳. A comic mask used in kyōgen 狂言 plays. Kentoku has a timid, clownish expression, with upward-looking round eyes, sometimes cross-eyed, and a large jaw with buck teeth. The creases that border the nostrils form a broad oval. Kentoku is used for a great variety of kyōgen roles, especially animals. He represents the spirit of the the horse in Shidō Hōgaku 止動方角, the dog in Inu Yamabushi 犬山伏 (The Dog and the Warrior Priest), the crab in Kani Yamabushi 蟹山伏 (The Warrior Priest and the Crab), and the cow in Yokoza 横座.