Old men

Old men masks are used either in the first half of plays where the main character appears in the form of elderly man, only to appear in his real form of god, ghost, or spirit, or in the second half where the character is an aged god. Most of these masks have hair inserted for their beards and some for the mustache as well, while others have painted mustaches.  A chart at the end of the page summarizes the association of the masks with role types and shite-school usage.

Ko-jō 小尉

Roles	Deity in human form.
Plays	Takasago, Yōrō, Naniwa, Himuro, Aridōshi, Hōjōgawa, etc.
Act	First
Play category	First
Shite school	All
Features	Implanted hair; light wrinkles on forehead and cheeks; painted eyebrows; ears; painted mustache; implanted beard; small mouth; upper teeth, painted black.
Wig	Jō-gami

Notes: The name Ko-jō is an abbreviation of Koushi-jō, referring to the carver who first made it, Koushi Kiyomitsu, active in the late 14th century. This type of mask is used mostly for roles of deities in the first half of first category plays. Its fewer wrinkles and painted mustache instead of hair inserts contribute to a more refined appearance, suitable for roles of deity. The white hair inserted on top of the head blend with the jō-gami old man’s wig.

Shiwa-jō 皺尉

Roles	Aged deity performing a dance
Plays	Saigyō-zakura, Yūgyō Yanagi. Hakurakuten, Hōjōgawa
Act	Second
Play category	First, third, fourth
Shite school	Kanze
Features	Implanted hair; wrinkles on forehead and cheeks; painted eyebrows; ears; painted mustache; implanted beard; small mouth; upper teeth, painted black.
Wig	Shiro-tare

Notes: The name of this type of mask means ‘wrinkled old man’. Although this type of mask shares some similarities with Ko-jō (above), for example the hair implanted beard with painted mustache, it used in the second half of a play. Unlike the masks used in the first act, Shiwa-jō is used in combination with the shiro-tare loose white wig.

Warai-jō 笑尉

Roles	Deity, ghost or spirit in human form.
Plays	Nomori, Ukai, Utō, etc.
Act	First
Play category	Second, fourth, fifth
Shite school	All
Features	Implanted hair; deep wrinkles on forehead and cheeks; painted eyebrows; ears; mustache inserts; implanted beard; large mouth; upper and lower teeth.
Wig	Jō-gami

Notes: The name of this type of mask means ‘laughing old man’. The white hair inserts on top of the head fit with the jō-gami old man wig. Warai-jō and Sankō-jō (below) may be used interchangeably, depending on the shite school.

Sankō-jō 三光尉

Roles	Ghost of warrior or commoner in human form.
Plays	Yashima, Akogi, Utō, Sanemori, Tadanori, Michimori, Tōru, Kuzu
Act	First
Play category	Second, fourth, fifth
Shite school	All
Features	Implanted hair; multiple deep wrinkles on forehead and cheeks; painted eyebrows; ears; mustache inserts; implanted beard and mustache; large mouth; upper and lower teeth.
Wig	Jō-gami

Notes: The name of this type of mask refers to its creator, Sankō-bō. The white hair inserts on top of the head fit with the jō-gami old man wig. Warai-jō and Sankō-jō may be used interchangeably, depending on the shite school.

Note about old men masks

Although all shite schools use Ko-jō for the first-category deity-in-disguise, they have different conventions for the kind of mask to be used when portraying a commoner old man in the first act.  They also use different masks for the dancing old man deity or spirit in the second act.

Masks in brackets indicate that they are sometimes used, but are not officially representative of the category.

Contributor: Diego Pellecchia