Museums

Noh plays were protected as samurai entertainment by the Maeda family, the lords of the Kaga clan, and then developed as “Kaga Hosho“, a performing art for ordinary people. It was said that “Noh chants fall from the heavens”, because artisans, including gardeners and carpenters, would sing Noh chants as they worked in high places such as in tree and on roofs.
Although the Kaga Hosho school went into a period of decline after the Meiji Restoration(1868),when the samurai class was abolished, Sano Kichinosuke, who was called the father of the revival of Kaga Hosho, dedicated himself to the promotion of Noh in Kanazawa. He developed Kaga Hosho into the flourishing art form that it is today.
This museum is located in Hirosaka, where the previous Noh theater was situated. Noh (Nogaku) has been designated as a World Intangible Cultural Heritage and “Kaga Hosho” has been designated as an Intangible Cultural Asset by Kanazawa City.
The museum aims to fill the role of passing on works of art and traditional culture to future generations. It also aims to be a museum with character over the generations and affability.

・ Here you can enjoy a Noh plays set to Noh music on a site with the same dimensions as those of an actual Noh stage.
・ A miniature model of Kanazawa Noh Theater shows the structure and back of the Noh stage.
・ Noh masks and costumes you can try on are displayed here. Feel free to try them on and take photos of yourself wearing them.
・ In the entrance hall, you can find local traditional craft items that are also on sale as museum merchandise.
・ Old costumes and masks used in Kaga Hosho Noh plays are displayed.
・ The history of Kaga Hosho Noh plays and traditional performing arts in Kanazawa are presented in the video room.

Main works

Noh mask Ko-omote Edo period seventeenth century Cultural Property designated by KanazawaCity

A representative example of a Noh mask is the Ko-omote mask. Among the several types of young woman masks used in Noh theater, such as Zo, Magojiro, Waka-onna and Omi-Onna, the Ko-omote mask is particularly symbolic of young female beauty. One of the most famous Ko-omote masks is the Yuki no Ko-omote (Ko-omote of Snow), a deeply expressive mask treasured by the Kyoto Kongo school. This work follows that form.

Noh costume of Choken type, with design featuring weeping cherry trees, butterflies,and maple leaves on floating rafts on a yellowish grass-green background- Edo period,ca. 19th century. Cultural Property designated by the City of Kanazawa.

This Choken Noh costume in leno weave with gold threads features spring-autumn motifs, with butterflies playing among weeping cherry blossoms on a light yellow green background and a raft decorated with maple leaves at the hem. Two types of gold thread are used to enhance the texture of the butterflies.
It is said to have been worn in Hyakuman, a play that tells the story of a madwoman who wanders in search of her beloved child and eventually reunites with him at the Seiryoji Temple in Sagano.