Some ink drawings inspired by Noh, Japanese traditional drama that has been performed since the 14th century.
The masks.
Teika. Obsessive love of great poet Teika turns into kudzu and torments Princess Shikishi even after death.
Matsukaze. Humble diver sisters Matsukaze and Murasame turn into wind blowing through a pine tree on Suma beach as they wait for the return of their long-gone lover.
The Mountain Crone. Monstrous Yamamba dances in front of travelers to seek a brief moment of salvation from endless wanderings in the mountains.
Saigyo’s Cherry Tree. Twelfth-century monk and poet Saigyo dreams about the spirit of an old cherry tree.
Izutsu. A mysterious lady ghost dances for a monk to remember her happy childhood spent by a well with her husband Narihira.
Shojo. Sake-loving creature Shojo rewards Kohfu with a pot full of sake that never dries up for being a devoted son.
Nonomiya. Lady Rokujo’s spirit still haunts Nonomiya palace in ruins, burning with love and resentment for Genji who has abandoned her.
Komachi at Sekidera. Old Komachi remembers her youthful days as she teaches poetry to children at the Sekidera temple and starts dancing.
Tengu of Kurama. Little Ushiwaka meets the great Tengu demon of the Kurama mountain and starts his training to become a great warrior.
Kamo. A maiden who finds an arrow with white feathers in Kamo river becomes pregnant with the son of a lightning god.
Yashima. The spirit of great warrior Yoshitsune appears in the dream of a traveling monk to tell the story of the battle of Yashima, in which he risked his life to save his honor by picking up his bow that he dropped in the ocean before his enemies could get to it.
Maple Viewing. The beautiful woman who offered sake to the warrior Koremochi under autumn leaves turns out to be the demon that he was after.
Dojoji Temple. A young dancer appears at the Dojoji temple on the day that a new bell is to be hung. She is in fact the spirit of a maiden who turned herself into a dragon to pursue her fiancé that was hiding under the Dojoji bell to escape the marriage. The angry dragon’s spirit is finally pacified by the power of prayer from the monks.
Two Dancers. The ghost of Lady Shizuka, the wife of famous warrior Yoshitsune, joins in when a woman possessed by the spirit of Shizuka herself starts dancing the dance of nostalgia and grief. The two figures dance in front of a priest begging him to pray for Shizuka and the ghost disappears like a wind.
Komachi on Stupa. The tired old woman that a monk found sitting on a stupa turns out to be Komachi, a once successful female poet who enchanted many noble men back in the days.
Kiyotsune. Kiyotsune, a warrior of the Heike clan, drowns himself after a lost battle and sends his wife a chunk of hair to remember him by. The wife cannot bear keeping the hair that constantly reminds her of her husband taking his own life and sends it back. Kiyotsune appears in her dream, resenting her for doing so.
