The Japanese Noh theatre is the most widely known type of mask theatre in the world today. Although the usage of masks in Japan dates back to prehistoric times, very little can be said undoubtedly about these practices. The ancestors of the traditional Noh mask are of a much later date as they trace back to the 7th century when the mask arrived from China. At that time, China had already developed more profane varieties of the sacral exorcist rituals, which included a great variety of popular topics in addition to the sacral ones. Once in Japan, the mask came into usage first at the Imperial Court, being part of the costume in the performance arts of Chinese origins such as gigaku and later sangaku. The founder of Noh theatre is considered to be Zeami Motokiyo (1363-1443) who adapted these and other extant arts so they can better suit the aesthetic needs of the newly emerged class of samurai lords. Today the Noh drama is wellknown for its close ties with Buddhism and Shintoism, being at the same time deeply rooted in the Japanese literary tradition.
