A Symbol Of The Unity Of Asia Gigaku is a Japanese ancient masque. It was originally a Chinese masque called "Kure-No-Utamai", which was established in the 3rd century (Kure-No-Utamai was introduced into Japan in the 7th century) . It is said that masques of this kind were primarily invented in Greece or India and spread through the Silk Road. Though Gigaku was very popular encouraged by Shotoku-Taishi at first, it declined the Heian era (12-14th century). The huge helmet-like masks used in Gigaku are very impressive because of their clear expressions (different masks have different expressions). They are made by ancient great sculptors, and the quality of them can compare with that of the greatest artworks in the world. Mannojo is trying to produce a new lively performance called "Shin-Gigaku" by studying GIGAKU. Shin-Gigaku is an element of GAKUGEKI (see "The 5 Elements of GAKUGEKI"), in which many talents dance with new fantastic masks. The talents who dance in Shin-Gigaku includes actors of the Balinese dance drama, Chinese Kyogeki-actors, Indian dancers, Bhutanese mask dancers, actors of Japanese classical dramas. Shin-Gigaku is now under production and planned to be premiered in 2000 (almost 1000 years have passed since Gigaku died!!).

What Kinds Of Masks Are Used In GIGAKU 14 types of masks are used in Gigaku (the total number of masks that appear in the drama is 23) . They include ones that represent the king of Persia and a sacred bird in India. Now about 200 Gigaku-masks remain in the Horyuji Temple (Horyuji has the oldest Gigaku mask which was designated as a national treasure) and Shoso-in (the warehouse of the Todaiji Temple), and give us a glimpse of what the performance was like.