This exhibition focuses on the Noh stage itself, and with the cooperation of the Matsuno Art Museum in Yotsukaido, Chiba Prefecture, displays "Noh paintings" by Matsuno Sofu and Hideyo, depicting the figures of Noh performers and the imaginary world on stage. At the same time, "Noh masks," which are indispensable to Noh performances, created by Tonozawa Teruaki, are displayed in accordance with the plays, conveying the charm of the splendid and poetic Noh.

<About Noh and Otaru>
Noh is a traditional performing art in Japan, designated as an Important Intangible Cultural Property and registered as an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO. In Otaru, the "Old Okazaki Family Noh Stage" is a historical building that still conveys the image of the Noh culture that flourished in the Taisho and early Showa periods. As painters, Matsuno Sofu and his son Hideyo not only painted pine paintings for Noh stages around the country, but also researched pine paintings from around the country that had been painted by their predecessors and wrote records and commentaries on them. Hideyo visited our city in 2000 at the invitation of the "Noh Appreciation Society."

The Matsuno father and son are also known as masters of "Noh painting," which depicts the performances of Noh actors on stage, and also illustrated utaihon (chants). Meanwhile, Noh mask artist Tonozawa Teruaki, who moved from the Kanto region to Otaru, where there are Noh stages, has made over 100 masks to date, and has been contributing to the spread of Noh through exhibitions in Otaru since 2009.