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In _Natsume's Book of Friends_ , some of the human-looking Youkai wear masks,
or at least obscure their sight. For example:

  * Tsubame

![Tsubame](https://i.stack.imgur.com/2Waoc.jpg)

  * Hotaru

![Hotaru](https://i.stack.imgur.com/QkrsW.jpg)

  * Hiiragi

![Hiiragi](https://i.stack.imgur.com/ZxP5p.jpg)

  * Tsuyukami

![Tsuyukami](https://i.stack.imgur.com/ijJeE.jpg)

  * Sasago

![Sasago](https://i.stack.imgur.com/bN23x.jpg)

I am wondering if there is a reason for this as none of these Youkai seemed to
be affected by their obscured vision. For Tsubame and Hotaru, they are both
shown to be able to show their full face. And for Kiiragi, after she was
attacked, we can see one of her eyes though her broken mask and there seemed
to be nothing wrong with it.


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2015-02-12T00:11:51.310
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2019-04-29T03:26:16.570
2015-02-12T06:02:11.187
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question
culture natsumes-book-of-friends
Why do the Human-looking Youkai obscure their eyes?


From this [article on Japanese masks and their
meanings](http://www.buzzle.com/articles/japanese-masks-and-meanings.html):

> In ancient times, masks were used to portray creatures and characters during
> plays and rituals.

It seems that that carried over into manga and anime to represent youkai when
in human form, much like the common depiction of a ghost wearing a triangle-
shaped bandage on the head.

Noh plays in particular seem to be a common style source for masks worn by
human-form youkai characters. Many of the fox, cat and other masks shown at
festivals derive from Noh mask style and have been used to represent their
respective creatures.

I've seen manga and anime that uses masks depicted in the more traditional
style as portrayed in that article (particularly the Hannya and Oni masks),
masks that are styled after Noh masks, and simple cloth coverings over the
face.

I expect that in Natsume's Book of Friends, it's simply a stylistic choice by
Yuki Midorikaw more than anything else to depict youkai in that manner.


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2019-04-29T03:26:16.570
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