Mask for tengu

18th–19th century

With a long nose, grinning mouth, and clenched teeth, this mask is for tengu, a mythical demon of the woods and mountains who can transform into human forms. This type of long-nosed tengu has a human body and sometimes the wings of a bird. It was identified with the god of roads and used in processions to Shinto festivals. (Shinto is Japan’s indigenous religion.)

Wood and brass

10 1/8 x 7 1/2 x 13 1/2 in. (25.72 x 19.05 x 34.29 cm)

Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection

45.104

Photo: Elizabeth Mann

Now on view at the Asian Art Museum

Resources

Exhibition HistoryVancouver, British Columbia, UBC Museum of Anthropology, The Hidden Dimension: Face Masking In East Asia, May 22 - Dec. 1984.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Boundless: Stories of Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing.

Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.

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