A making of AKOBU-JO mask’s backstory (Artist Roger•Voltz)

In February 1996 I completed the Yamamba mask, the second two-mask series I created after my two Kantan Otoko masks.

By this point I had created a young female mask (Ko Omote), two male masks (Kantan Otoko) and two demon masks (Yamamba).

I was ready to start a new mask.

The complex expressions found in aged male Noh masks intrigued me, and they presented a new challenge in terms of building on the sculpting techniques I had learned so far.

The features of those masks are much more pronounced, with striking protuberances and hollows, along with well-articulated ears that don’t exist in the other masks I had sculpted.