noborihige 登髭

Also written 上り髭, Lit. "climbing beard." The name of a mask used in kyōgen 狂言 plays. Noborihige has the face of a rustic old man with a slightly protruding forehead, low nose and several teeth missing. His name is inspired by the upward-growing hair on his temples. As well as implanted hair around the lower half of his face, he has painted hair on his chin, upper lip, and eyebrows. Noborihige is used to play kyōgen roles of gods, hermits, and spirits of the dead. He represents the god of a sub temple, massha-no-kami 末社の神 in ai-kyōgen 間狂言 scenes (kyōgen interludes forming part of a *Noh 能 play) in such Noh plays as Arashiyama 嵐山 and Kamo 賀茂 (The Thunder God).