Masks by Fumiko Enchi

Each of the three sections of Masks is

named after a mask used in Noh
theatre, a highly ritualized Japanese
traditional form. The first title, Ryo
no Onna, refers to a Noh mask that
Mieko, Yasuko, Ibuki, and Mikame
view in the first section. The quartet
are visiting the home of the Yakushiji
family, viewing an extensive
collection of Noh masks and
costumes. The Ryo no Onna mask is
brought out at the insistence of the
absent, infirm father of the family.
The mask, described as a national
treasure, depicts a calm face
wearing a mysterious expression.
Afterwards, in conversation with
Ibuki, Yasuko muses:
The Ryo no Onna mask is a face with a secret
that it has no intention of revealing. It
represents Mieko as she appears to those
around her, as well as to the readers, in the
first chapter.

Ibukis familiar mild voice, his

cigarette balanced just so
between two slender fingertips
oppressed Mikame in a way
that, as usual, he found
curiously agreeablelike being
confronted by a woman who
was at once both cruel and
beautiful (4).
Character relationship

behind Yasuko was always

Mieko Togano, lending to the

Tsuneo Ibuki and Toyoki Mikame met

each other at a college shop. They
are old college friends. Ibuki says he
is waiting for Mieko Togano which
interests Mikame too because they
probably both like her. Ibuki is an
assistanct professor of Japanese
literature at S. University.
Both guys know Mieko Togano. She
edits a poetry magazine. Her son
Akio just passed away in an
avalanche but her daughter in law
Yasuko decided to continue to stay
with her. Akio was a specialist with
Ibuki in Heian literature. Mikami
studied spirit possession.
Mieko is manipulating or controlling
her daughter in law Yasuko. They

gatherings by her mere

presence an old-fashipned
easiness and grace to Ibuki it
was clear that her vitality
depended absolutely on the
serene composure of Miekos,
seated figure (5).
It was as if the customary
restraints on his physical desire
had begun to fall away and
disappear, rendered
insubstantial by the eerie mood
of the sance (8)
shes certainly unable to
escape the influence of his
mother. If Yasuko is the
medium, then Mieko Togano is
the spirit itself (13)
Inside, she has no sense of
independence, of being her
own woman. And thats why
she can never leave Mieko 14)
Ibuki sensed the passing of a
private and wordless
communication between the
two women. They were thinking
of neither the robes design nor
its weave, he was certain, but
rather of the man who died in
its makingand of the mans
ghost, watching the dance from
the emperors box (20)
Magojiro mask

Zo no onna mask (23)

would meet at the Togano home for

discussion groups weekly about
Heian literature, possession, and folk
tales.

Ibuki is starting to like Yasuko but he

also notices how she is very bent on
pleasing Mieko.

These people are interested in spirits

and possession but in this metaphor
Ibuki is describing Yasuko as
possessed by Mieko.
IBUKI has a wife and 3 kids WTF. He
has evaluated Yasuko closely even
though he already has a family bad
person alertz.

Smile could change mysteriously into

weeping
A young woman but one with greater
femininity and the fully developed
charms of someone older, a young
woman at the very peak of her
beauty
Used for characters of exalted rank
the court lady in Buden of Love or the
celestial being in Robe of Feathers
Coldly beautiful woman; smile of

disdain
A haughty cruelty was frozen hard
upon the face, encasing it like
crystals of ice on a tree
This mask scared Yaskuko
I suppose No masks have such
symbolic properties that
everyone sees in them the
faces of his own dead. Only the
faces of the dead wear such
frozen expressions (25)
The sight of it rather frightened
me. I couldnt help thinking
that the one person meant to
see those Masks must be my
own mother-in-law, not
because she sees Noh
performed so often or because
she can appreciate the artistry
of the Masks, but because of
the look of utter tranquility
they havea deeply inward
sort of look. I think Japanese
women long ago must have
had that look. And it seems to
me she must be one of the last
women who lives that way still
like the Maskswith her
deepest energies turned inward
(Enchi 26).
you dont seem infatuated
with the idea of marriage for its
own sake.

Yasuko senses this darkness about

her mother in law.

As far as marrying Mikame

goes, there are two reasons:
first, Im not in love with him,
and secondly, that way once
and for all I can dissolve my
ties to the Togano family and
Mieko (29)

Yasuko has no desire to marry and

likes being independent. But again,
she wants to marry Mikame who she
doesnt love just because its loveless
and so she can leave Mieko. Ibuki
even wants them to be lovers despite
already have a wife and family of his
own. She likes her independence and
wants to support herself. She also
doesnt want to ask IBuki to leave his
wife.

She has a peculiar power to

There must also be a reason why she

is so determined to leave Mieko.
Yasuko is onto Mieko and thinks she

move events in whatever

direction she pleases, while she
stays motionless. Shes like a
quiet mountain lake whose
waters are rushing beneath the
surface toward a waterfall.
Shes like the face on a No
mask, wrapped in her own
secrets (30)
Its no game. Believe me, she
is a woman of far greater
complexity than youor
anyonerealize. The secrets
inside her mind are like flowers
in a garden at nighttime, filling
the darkness with perfume
(32)
34

Thats it. Fireflies alone

wouldnt create the same
mood. Who but Mieko would
think of something so oldfashioned and romantic as
having Professor Makino come
and talk about the Fireflies
chapter in the Tale of Genji?
(38)
then he realized that her face
mght be perfectly inlaid on the
Zo no onna mask they had
seen the day before. He
blinked, like one awakening
from a dream (40)
Yes, that was just how she
seemed: like a typical young
lady of Meiji who had drifted

is manipulative and deceiving. Even

in getting Ibuki to go on the train ride
with Yasuko was her plan all along
and it wasnt a last minute change in
plans.

Yasuko tells Ibuki about how her

husband Akio was probably trying to
escape his mothers manipulation
and tight grasp too. She thinks both
she and Ibuki are just her mothers
pawns. At first, she looked up to her
mom. Akios death even brought
them closer together but now she
realizes more about her mother-inlaw.
Mieko plans everything and the
professor too might be a pawn
because he likes Yasuko.

Ibuki is referring to Akios twin but

separated sister.

into our times without aging a

day
Ibuki puzzled over the
strangeness of the womans
destiny, to be shuttled hither
and yon, like a child, at the
whims of other people
Back home, he signed
despondently at the sight of his
small daughter toddling about,
and his slender, immaculate
wife; he saw neither sweetness
in the one nor neatness in the
other, aware only of the bonds
they represented homdling him
tightly in their grip (43)
Part admiring, part fearful, she
seemed indeed to be under the
other womans spell. The
thought of this filled him now
with a complelling desire to
learn all that he could about his
rival
Mieko wrote An Account of the
Shrine in the Fields in 1937
when her children were small
and her husband was still alive.
This shows how it was her who
was first interested in the study
of spirit possession instead of
Akio or Yasuko.

Akios sister, Harume, was given to

her aunt because there was an old
superstituion that children shouldnt
be raised together. Now shes being
sent back to her mom because Akio
died.
Ibuki really doesnt want Yasuko to
marry Mikame and he spontaneously
decided to get off the next train stop
and have sex with her. however, that
did not tie her down and she left and
now hes unhappy with the family
that he does have. He views his
family as a weight in his life that is
holding him back.
Ibuki now views Mieko as his rival
because Yasuko devotes so much
time and attention to her.

- Shrine in the Fields is a sacred place

where unmarried daughters of the
emperor or imperial princes woud go
for purification before leaving to
serve as high priestesses at the
Grand Shine in Ise this makes
sense because in Shamanism,
transmitters of divine oracle are
mostly female
- Mieko is interested in this spot
because of her sympathy for Rokujo
lady in The Tale of Genji; she is
dismissed as a villain but Mieko
thinks she is really important
She has shamanistic influence
over Genji and her presence is
a unifying motif
Her future was denied when
her husband, the crown prince,
stepped down to lead a normal
lifethen he died

Burning with unrequited love

for Fujitsubo, six years his
elder, Genji pursued the Rokujo
lady as the closest to his
ideal Fujitsubo had learned to
mold herself to a man by
dissolving her identity in his;
the Rokujo lady, in contrast,
possessed a spirit of such lively
intensity that she was
incapable of surrendering it
fully to any man
Inhibited by the upbringing
given to all young Heinan
princesses (one firmly
discouraging any sort of direct
action), the Rokujo lady turned
unsconsciously to spirit
possession as the only
available outlet for her strong
will (51)
whereas Fujitsubo and
Murasaki are women who
dissolve their whole beings in
the anguish of foregiving men,
and thereby create an image of
eternal love and beauty in the
hearts of the men they love,
the Rokujo lady is instead a Ryo
no onna: one who chafes at her
inablitiy to sublimate her
strong ego in deference to any
man, but who can carry out her
will only by forcing it upon
othersand that indirectly,
through the possessive
capacity of her spirit (52)

Her pride made her reject

being the Emperor (her father
in law)s concubine
- the way Mieko describes the lady is
as if shes describing herself;
admiration
Great writer, poet, calligrapher
Good at music and fashion
Shes comparing herself to the lady
she wont let no man dictate her life.
Shes very strong willed and feminist.

That these two women, each

expressing a different facet of
the Rokujo lady, should both
find favor with Genji and form
lasting relationships with him,
never forgotten or cast aside,
indicates the particular regard
which he had for women of
strong characterforemost
among them the Rokujo lady
she was able to combine
womens extreme ego
suppression and ancient female
shamanism, showing both in
opposition to men (57)

Part II Masugami

She is actually arguing that strong

women are favorable and thats
probably what shes striving to be.

Mieko is referring to a poem by

Murasaki Shikibu who is also the
author of the Tale of Genji. She says
that shamanism offers a partial
explanation for the power that
women still have over men.
Buddhism teaches that this power is
a womans greatest burden, delusion,
and sin but she thinks the sin is
inseparable from women, meaning
that they will always have some
power over men and this cant be
broken.
The second section, Masugami,
begins with a quote: This mask
forms a unique type, that of a young
woman in a state of frenzy (Enchi
61). The Masugami mask itself
depicts a face with unfocused eyes
and a mouth turned up into a
hesitant smile that could easily
become a wince. It is a look of
constant confusion (nohmask.net).
The Masugami mask is Harume, who
becomes a major character in this
section. In the first part of the book,
Harume exists only in the
conversations and memories of
others, a beautiful, silent face
alluring to men and upsetting to
women. Masugami explores the
inner world of the Togano household.
Harume has returned to live with her
mother and Yasuko. She drifts around
the household, cared for by the maid
Yu, sometimes turning violent but

mostly placid. Harume is beautiful

but empty, her moods are that of an
infant. She possesses a unique
melancholy magnetism that both
repels and attracts those around her.
You know as well as I do that
my body doesnt belong only to
Akio anymoreor to you either
(65)
somehow, time and again,
your feelings seem to take hold
of me. This is not just some
crazy excuse; so many times
Ive found myself doing things
that dont make a bit of sense
and every time, without fail, I
feel you there in the
background, manipulating me
like a puppet
to hear you say what you just
did makes me think that you
are a woman who could pick up
and begin again where I leave
off. And in that sense you are
my real daughter the woman
in me that I tried, but failed to
pass on to Harume has found
new life in you
what sinful things words are,
coming to life again just when
Id forgotten them and
unmasking me like that (68)

In that essay you wrote that

Genjis romance with the
Rokujo lady was much more
than a passing affair

Yasuko finally confessed how shes

been feeling to Mieko and admits
that she has to leave. She feels like a
puppet thats being controlled and
doesnt like being manipulated.
However, her mother-in-law feigns
innocence and says she only wants
her to be happy.
She wants to pass on the
manipulation and power over men to
Yasuko. She cant to her own
daughter because Harume is
mentally ill or has something wrong
with her. it is sad how she rejects her
own daughter.
When Yasuko asked Mieko why she
never revealed her essay to them
when they were studying spirit
possession, Mieko says she tried to
burn all traces of it. And the
important part is that the essay
unmasked her. I think it revealed her
true intentions and her feministic
notions that she tries to hide beneath
her calm composure and
manipulation of others.
Mieko finally reveals that Akio and
Harume are actually illegitimate
children of her lover and not her
husband. None of them have a drop
of Togano blood. This is why she was
defending the Rokujo lady and her

importance because she thinks she is

like that woman too. Maybe this is
also why she wants Yasuko to do the
same and have a relationship with
Ibuki.
Harumes departure to live
Harume is like a child because Akio
with her maternal grandparents kicked her head when they were in
had been due less to any
the womb. It is very selfish to exile
suspicious fear of twins than to her because of this.
a dread that raising the pair
together might somehow lead
to misery for Akio
The momet when she had felt
faint at the sight of the No
mask on the Yakushiji stage,
she had seen it plainly: the two
faces of Harume and Akio
coming together as one before
her eyes (73)
When she saw Yasuko coming, This is describing Mieko.
she smiled; her face was like a
No mask suddenly struck by a
beam of light
The Togano family was wealthy The real villain is Masatsugu Togano,
and had lots of property. Mieko then.
married Masatsugu. According
to their family tradition, males
Still, if it was in the family blood for
are entitled to find a maid to
generations, you cant very well
sere them. He had a maid Aguri blame him either. Men are
who he slept with nd she had 2 susceptible to that sort of thing. Our
abortions. One day she had a
society gets so worked up over it
miscarriage because she
now, always siding with the woman,
tripped on a nail on the stairs
that no one dares examine the
that were planted by Aguri.
matter fairly, thats the way it is
Ibuki
because hes a cheater too
Her attitude was nt that of an
Ibuki notices how Yasuko is very
innocent and moral woman,
warm to him when theyre together
but, indeed, that of an
but its different when they are not.
experienced whoreone who
Its as if he doesnt even exist and
had mastered every skill (91)
she doesnt bother to contact him. He
refers to her as an experienced
whore, which is viery similar to
Miekos role too. She must be
influencing Yasuko heavily.
Mieko, too, was human, she
First Ibuki says that Yasukos face was

must smile and frown like other

people, but he had no memory
of ever seeing her expression
come alive
His relationship with Yasuko
was becoming a painful drain
on his purse, but he had
resigned himself to paying
whatever it might cost to
explore the unknown depths of
her heart (92)
That Akio will grow up a
Togano means nohing to me
what are patriarchal notions of
blood and family to a man who
has given his child to a mother
like you?
In the hands of someone like
you, a man is destined to
become a fool (112)

Part 3: Fukai

like a No mask and now Mieko has no

expressions either!!
While Ibuki was waiting for Yasuko at
a lodge, she was actually having a
dandy time with Mieko and Mikame!!
And Mikame proposed to her

This is a letter Miekos lover and

Akios father wrote to her before he
went to war.

Mieko and Yasuko have made a plan

together for Ibuki. Yasuko invited him
over and had sex with him but then
when he woke up in the middle of the
night he saw Harume. Then he woke
up again and Yasuko was there and
she said he was crazy. They are
messing with him
Fukai, is named after a mask that
Yorihito Yakushijis daughter presents
to Mieko after
her fathers death. Its appearance is
sad and aged; it shows the somber
and grief-laden look of a woman long
past the age of sensuality (Enchi
138). When Yasuko asks about the
meaning of the masks name, Toe
Yakushiji replies that it translates to
deep well or deep woman and
that her father had his own
interpretation of the Fukai mask. He
liked to think of it as a metaphor
comparing the heart of an older
woman to the depths of a bottomless
wella well so deep that its water
would seem totally without color
(Enchi 138). Fukai seems a symbol
for what Mieko has become at the
end of the novel, and what Yasuko

may be someday.
The two of you are a pair of
Ibukis wife Sadako knows that he is
puppets, and she pulls the
cheating on her because she hired a
strings. That woman is a witch: private investigator. She can see
she does exactly what she
through Yasuko and Miekos
wants with men (117)
manipulation. It is ironic because
Yasuko said she didnt want to be
Miekos puppet but now shes
treating these two men as her puppet
too.
Remaining ladylike, under
This demonstrates the patriarchal
such circumstances would, of
thinking. The men dont really think
course, be difficult, Mikame
cheating on their wives is a bad
reflected, but sudden crises like thing. Even when he is part of this
this did, in fact, seem to bring
and a victim of IBukis deception,
out the least attractvive side of Mikame doesnt really seem angry or
a woman. He found himself
upset. He also says hes not very
coming to the absurd
possessive and wouldnt mind if his
conclusion that Ibuki was
wife had a few outside adventures
entirely justified in preferring
either.
Yasuko over his wife 118)
I thught you might mend your The old housekeeper Yu noticed that
ways, but I see now you
Harume was pregnant and Mieko
havent finished yet wth your
admitted that it was her doing. Yu
plotting and scheming. What
begged her to stop because Miekos
you are doing is too shameful
scheming was also hurting her. it is
to bear the light of day
sad because Harume has the
intelligence of a child yet Mieko
would set this up to get her pregnant.
I think Mieko is better that she
miscarried because of her
hubsbands mistress and is getting
revenge.
Youre going to see that
Yasuko said she wanted to leave
Harume has that child. Its
Mieko and all this BS but she actually
inhuman of you to make a
is happy to be scheme with her.
woman like her, with so many
physical and mental handicaps,
risk childbirth, but your plan
stands a good chance of
succeeding. And it has a strong
fascination for me, too, Ill
admit; Im as excited as you by
the prospect of a baby with
Akios blood in its veins. That
instinctive feeling underlies all

the strange things Ive done.

You and I are accomplices,
arent we, in a dreadful crime
a crime that only women could
commit. Having a part to play
in this scheme of yours,
Mother, means more to me
than the love of any man
(126)
Ibuki realized that he is the
father of Harumes baby
because of Yasukos doing. He
says he fell into their trap and
played the fool. He thinks
Miekos essay is the only true
writing, not even her poems,
that exposes her true self
through the lady which she
later regretted and tried so
hard to hide.
The mask seemed to know all
the intensity of the grief of her
loss of Akio and Harumeas
well as the bitter womans
vengeance that she had
planned so long, hiding it deep
within her 141
The three masks that form the
structure of the book depict
different characters; they also
depict three stages in the life of
a woman. The Noh masks are
deceptively simple images of
the complex emotions and
experiences of a womans life.
The secretive nature of the
Fukai and Ryo no Onna masks
contrasts sharply with the open
fervor of the Masugami. By
using these masks at the titles
of her chapters, Enchi creates
an atmosphere of illusion and
layered identities, leaving the
reader guessing about what
lays under Miekos many
masks.

Masks:
1. Who is the main protagonist of the novel? Are any of the characters
presented in a sympathetic light?
I think the protagonist is actually Mieko. It might seem absurd at first
because her actions are very manipulative and cunning, but it is later
revealed that she has suffered immensely because of men. Her
husband, Masatsugu, followed the patriarchal and mysogonistic rules
of society, which caused her immense pain. For instance, it was the
Togano family tradition that males were entitled to find a maid to
serve them. He chose a young girl Aguri who he would also have sex
with and she had two abortions. Because of her, Mieko had a
miscarriage when she tripped on a nail on the stairs that Aguri planted.
She suffered throughout her marriage and was unhappy. This is why
she wants to seek revenge against all men.
2. Can Masks be considered a feminist work? Does the novel present a
critique of patriarchal society and the institution of the family? In other
words, can Mieko's actions be considered a rebellion against the
institution of family (ie) or a propagation of it?
I think Masks is a feminist work that criticizes the patriarchal society
and institution of family. Ibuki believes that her essay was the only true
writing that exposed her true self, which is why she later regretted it
and tried to hide it from everyone. Her poems and other writings were
phony and did not convey truth or real emotions. First of all, she is very
interested in shamanism and mainly because it empowers women. In
shamanism, females have important roles as transmitters of divine
oracles. She also states how shamanism offers a partial explanation
for the power that women still have over men. Buddhism, on the other
hand, refers to this power as a womans greatest burden and delusion
but Mieko highly opposes this. She thinks this power or sin will
always be a part of women and the power that they have over men
cannot be broken. She also highly regards Rokujo lady, who seems to
be the parallel of herself and through this woman, she is able to
express her feminist ideas. She explains how Rokujo ladys spirit was
so lively that it was impossible for her to surrender to any man. This
lady also had a strong will and Mieko notes how Genji favored women
of strong character. She refused to give up anything for a man while
Genjis other women, Fujitsubo and Murasaki, gave themselves up for
just an image of love and beauty.

Burning with unrequited love

for Fujitsubo, six years his
elder, Genji pursued the Rokujo
lady as the closest to his
ideal Fujitsubo had learned to
mold herself to a man by
dissolving her identity in his;
the Rokujo lady, in contrast,
possessed a spirit of such lively
intensity that she was
incapable of surrendering it
fully to any man
Inhibited by the upbringing
given to all young Heinan
princesses (one firmly
discouraging any sort of direct
action), the Rokujo lady turned
unsconsciously to spirit
possession as the only
available outlet for her strong
will (51)
whereas Fujitsubo and
Murasaki are women who
dissolve their whole beings in
the anguish of foregiving men,
and thereby create an image of
eternal love and beauty in the
hearts of the men they love,
the Rokujo lady is instead a Ryo
no onna: one who chafes at her
inablitiy to sublimate her
strong ego in deference to any
man, but who can carry out her
will only by forcing it upon
othersand that indirectly,
through the possessive
capacity of her spirit (52)
That these two women, each
expressing a different facet of
the Rokujo lady, should both
find favor with Genji and form
lasting relationships with him,
never forgotten or cast aside,
indicates the particular regard
which he had for women of

strong characterforemost
among them the Rokujo lady
she was able to combine
womens extreme ego
suppression and ancient female
shamanism, showing both in
opposition to men (57)

3. How are the differences between traditional and modern culture

presented in the work? Which characters embody those
characteristics?
4. What is the significance of the "mask" as metaphor in Enchi's work?
Enchi contrasted the traditions of female subjugation in Buddhism with the role of the shamaness
in the indigenous Japanese Shinto religion, and used this as a means to depict the shamaness as
a vehicle for either retribution against men, or empowerment for women.

- Shrine in the Fields is a sacred place where unmarried daughters of

the emperor or imperial princes woud go for purification before leaving
to serve as high priestesses at the Grand Shine in Ise this makes
sense because in Shamanism, transmitters of divine oracle are mostly
female