Hoate (mask)

There are about six different styles. They are all to cover the cheeks and chin. A movable nose-piece is recommended. Whiskers on the mask are not particularly necessary, but it is desirable to have moustaches. Before puttingon the mask you must out a fukusa (a kind of handkerchief) between the mask and chin, and then fasten the ends of the cords on top of your head slightly towards the back.

There are four varieties: menpo (lit. face cheek) which covers the whole face; hoate (lit. cheek protection) which covers all below the level of the eyes; sarubo (lit. monkey cheek) which covers the chin alone; and tsubamegata (lit. swallow pattern) which covers the chin alone. The first and the last are not good, because one is over complete and the other too much abridged. The best is the hoate, It is recommended that it be fitted with a seperate nose-piece. Fig 21

Garbutt adds: The mask has varied greatly at different periods. The twelfth-century happuri covered the temples and the forehead, leaving the rest exposed. Later a complete mask was used and still later the half-mask, stopping below the eyes and either with or without a nose-piece, was evolved. The illustrations given show generally the half-mask with nose-piece, called mempo.

Garbutt also adds: It may be added that the inside of the mask is usually lacquered red, and is so shaped as to fit very comfortably against the face. Its chief drawback from the point of view of comfort is probably indicated by the presence of a small hole, often with a little pipe attached to it, under the chin - to allow the perspiration to run out. It would appear that some sort of mask was found desirable as giving a means of tying the helmet on more securely than was possible if the cords took their bearing on the bare flesh.