tokusajō 木賊尉

A Noh mask *nōmen 能面 representing an old, plebeian man used only by the Hōshō 宝生 school. The upper half of the mask is said to be similar to *maijō 舞尉 and the lower half like *kojō 小尉. Its rectangular-shaped, open mouthed with thin, tense eyebrows, and flattened nostrils thus depicting a distinguished elderly man. Tan horse hair is implanted on the chin. Only the upper teeth are visible. While tokusajō was made especially for the shite シテ in the play Tokusa 木賊, its dignified expression makes it a suitable substitute for the kojō mask. A good example can be found in the Maeda 前田 Collection.