Nine Masks Tee

九つの面 (kokonotsu no men): "nine masks."

In 612 a man from the Korean kingdom of Baekje named Mimashi arrived at the court of Empress Suiko and taught gigaku, a masked dance he had learned in southern China. The Nihon Shoki records that he set up a school for it at Sakurai. Gigaku died out long ago, but its big carved masks, made to cover the whole head, survive at Tōdai-ji and Hōryū-ji. Noh and kyōgen masks came centuries later.

Nine round masks fill a three by three grid across the front in red, gold, black and cream. A gold horned hannya glares from the top right, a white fox watches from the middle left, and the face across from it purses its lips as if to whistle. Pale faces with round red cheeks sit among scowling bearded ones.

The three by three grid looks like a museum case, every color clean on white cotton. A theater kid would be glad to get it, and so would anybody who brought a fox mask home from a summer festival. A darker crowd waits in the oni and masks section.

• Fabric: 100% combed cotton, 230gsm, pre-shrunk and soft-washed
• Print: direct-to-garment (DTG)
• Color: white
• Fit: unisex, regular; size up for a boxier, oversized look
• Sizes: S to 3XL
• Size reference: 6 ft 2 in wears L; 5 ft 7 in wears M

Measurements for every size are in the size guide.