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Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original fileOninoyakata
The image features an oversized, glossy red mask of an oni in the foreground, taking up the right side of the frame. The mask has prominent, gold-painted teeth, stylized black and orange flames or eyebrow markings, and deep-set, golden eye sockets. In the background, to the left, a woman with short brown hair, wearing a patterned dress and carrying an orange shoulder bag, stands in profile facing the mask. The setting is the interior of the Devils Museum in Kitakami, characterized by dark wooden architectural elements and a stone-tiled floor.
The oni is a central figure in Japanese Buddhist and folk traditions, often serving as a ward against calamity or a manifestation of vengeful spirits. This mask is housed at the Kitakami Devils Museum, a site dedicated to the preservation of local oni-kenbai (demon sword dance) cultural heritage.
Oni-kenbai traditions
The mask represents the visual iconography associated with regional Oni-kenbai ritual dance performances in the Iwate prefecture.
Object
photograph
Contemporary
Japanese
genre-scene
Digital Source
Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
1292 × 1200 px
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3.1-flash-lite-preview on April 21, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.