Mask of a Drunken Persian King's Servant 伎楽面（酔胡従）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

This is a mask of a drunken Persian king's servant, a 7th- or 8th-century Buddhist ritual mask. It used to belong to Hōryūji Temple, but it is now housed at the Tokyo National Museum. How did this mask move from the temple in Nara Prefecture to Tokyo?

Its former owner, Horyuji Temple, had to sell more than 300 masks and statues—including this one—in 1878 for only 10,000 yen at the time (equivalent to about 400 million yen or 4 million dollars today) to survive the haibutsu kishaku, a movement to abolish Buddhist temples and statues. This movement was triggered by the Meiji government's 1868 decision to separate Shinto from Buddhism and establish it as the state religion, aiming to modernize Japan and make it as strong as Western imperialist powers. Many, though not all, Buddhist temples across Japan were destroyed, forcing them to sell off their sacred statues and masks. Kofukuji Temple, one of the oldest and most revered temples in Nara Prefecture, even tried to sell its five-storied pagoda for a mere 25 yen—which would be worth about 1 million yen or 10,000 dollars today. Therefore, without the rise of imperialism in Japan, this mask would likely still be housed in Horyuji Temple.

Mask of drunken Persian king's servant 伎楽面（酔胡従）

Posted on 9/22/2019

Revised on 11/3/2026

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東京国立博物館法隆寺宝物館に陳列されている伎楽面（酔胡従）です。

法隆寺宝物館の展示物は全て1868年に法隆寺から皇室に献上（というか当時の1万円で売却）されたもの。廃仏毀釈から寺を守るための決断だったそうです。興福寺も五重塔を25円（今の100万円）で売ろうとしました。こちらも日本帝国主義の犠牲と言えます。

帝国主義のせいで奈良の酔っ払いのお面が、今、東京にある。歴史を学ぶことは重要です。

初稿　9/22/2019

改訂　11/3/2026

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