The “Six Faces” of Kyōgen: Nomura Yūki on Art, Family, and Mansaku’s Legacy

Kyōgen legend Nomura Mansaku, who turned 94 on June 22, 2025. (© Mansaku no Kai)

(© Hanai Tomoko)

Moments before stepping onstage, Mansaku focuses on his role in the kagami-no-ma (mirror room). (© Mansaku no Kai)

(© Hanai Tomoko)

Nomura Mansai, right, as the blind man’s wife in the kyōgen play Kawakami. (© Mansaku no Kai)

(© Hanai Tomoko)

Mansaku appearing as the blind man in Kawakami. (© Mansaku no Kai)

The solemn landscape of the temple Kongōji in Kawakami, Nara Prefecture—the setting of the kyōgen play of that name. (© Mansaku no Kai)

A scene from Kawakami. (© Mansaku no Kai)

A scene from Kawakami. (© Mansaku no Kai)

(© Hanai Tomoko)

Nomura Mansai, a kyōgen superstar in his own right, passes on what he learned from Mansaku to Yūki. (© Mansaku no Kai)

Getting dressed in a kyōgen costume is a task requiring three assistants. (© Mansaku no Kai)

In Six Faces, Mansaku’s offstage moments are filmed in black and white. (© Mansaku no Kai)

(© Hanai Tomoko)