Ceremonial Mask & More

Reviews

I bought this to go in my "elephant" room. I hung it next to a picture that an elephant painted! It looks great!

Reviews

I had the most fun dressing up for a Mardi Gras party at which time I wore the Geisha wig. Adding makeup and wearing my kimono and the wig = awesome time. My grandchildren (4 1/2 year old twins - boy and girl) had an hysterical time trying on the wig. We all laughed and laughed. Thank you for offering the perfect wig for the occasion and one that I'll be able to wear in the future!

Reviews

The kimono itself is very pretty and very nice, but the waist belt was a little to big and there were many loose fibers. The bow itself refused to stay open and form the bow as well. But I just did a few alterations to it, and now I absolutely love it!

Hard to keep on, but I wasn't planning on wearing it long anyway. The bow's a bit big for a crowded party, and will get in the way of hugs and some greetings. The sleves surprisingly stayed on, and the front only opened a bit, even though there is no "modesty" tie for the dress part itself and the waist cincher wrap is made of a flimsy spandex.

Reviews

I am very pleased with the quality of the Cris Notti sleep mask. It is well made. It covers my eyes completely and does not let in any light through the fabric or around the edges. The elastic strap holds it securely in place with the right amount of tightness. I often wash the sleep mask in the washer and dry it in the dryer it still looks like it did when I first bought it several months ago--no shrinkage, no color fading, no becoming undone at the seams. I highly recommend this sleep mask.

Reviews

I needed it for a college class, but didn't want to pay 15 bucks for a new copy. I got it for 7something including the shipping and it was in great condition. there was a funny red like across the bottom but its not that obstructs the reading. I could probably resell it, its still in good condition, but I liked it so it's a keeper.

What an intense, impassioned narration of this particular man's sexual awakening. The sadomasochist fantasies/feelings that accompany the narrator's sexuality are disturbing, yes - but at the same time, the narrator is so honest, so totally frank with the reader about everything he's experiencing, from his young boyhood to manhood, that I developed a respect for him I would never have thought, on first reading, that I'd have. At the same time, I was filled with compassion for the narrator because he's suffering so acutely -concealing his true self within himself; setting up mental walls... The narrator never asks for pity, but my heart is moved by what he's doing to himself. This is a riveting novel. The juxtaposition of the narrator's outward "normal" life and the ferocity of his "inner", emotional/sexual feelings, is just brilliant - unnerving, but brilliant.

From what I can tell, Yukio Mishima was not a very happy man. Granted, the only works that I have read of this very prolific author are this and Kinkakuji, but I'm seeing a pattern already, and it doesn't point towards Mishima being a cheerful, laid-back guy. Of course, his suicide by seppuku is also a good indicator that he took things way too seriously. Published in 1948, Confessions of a Mask addresses a subject that would have been taboo anywhere, not just Japan. The main character, whose name is only given as Kochan, is a young man dealing with the fact that he is homosexual. He begins with one of his earliest memories, seeing a night-soil man and finding him beautiful, which he believes is what set his preferences for life. As he gets older, he doesn't yet realize that he's different from other boys, except in that he's small and thin and gets sick a lot more often. He finds himself entranced by men, especially laborers, and not knowing if this is what he's supposed to be feeling. His sexual maturity is a sad and stunted thing. The pleasure and rapture that he sees in paintings of St. Sebastian hide dark urges of violence and despair. His boyhood love of a classmate is a secret that gnaws at him until he finally convinces himself that he was never actually in love at all. And his attempts to become "normal" end with nothing by emptiness and sorrow. Kochan has no friends to talk to, no family to lean on, and no way to know if what he's feeling is good or bad. All he knows is that the other boys are fascinated by women, and he's fascinated by other boys. In darkness and isolation, Kochan grows. What he grows into, however, is a pale, lonely and barren man. Like many gay kids, especially in the pre-internet era, Kochan believes that he is unique. An aberration, a deviation from the norm. As far as he knows, no other boy has felt the way he did, and the only other one he hears of - Oscar Wilde - is long dead. His desire to fit in with the rest of the world leads him to play an elaborate game, to wear a mask so convincing that it nearly convinces himself. Being able to hide who he really is and what he really wants becomes a matter of hiding from himself. And as anyone who's tried that will know, hiding from yourself only works for so long.... Such is the life of a young gay man in wartime Japan. While I'm sure what Mishima has presented here is not the average, it is a depressing picture of what it's like to live in a society where such a deviation from the norm is punishable by societal exile. While I can't claim to know what would have happened to a young man in that era who came out of the closet, the narrator doesn't even seem to consider that as an option, good or bad. Thus I can only assume that the consequences would be dire. There's no doubt that this book is at least semi-autobiographical. A look at

This book is really not lacking very much. Perhaps some other reviewers came into it with high expectations for some sort of pinnacle of Japanese literature, but I only wanted a story and the story that was delivered was overwhelmingly engaging. As a story of obsession and tragedies of the heart it is certainly comparable to Nabokov. I am not a fan of stories that are just depressing or a mountain of uncomfortable drudgery, but Mishima keeps you out of that pit with his tell-all intellectual writing style, simultaneously mocking all the follies of human existence and pitying himself for being so analytical. The story has its rough edges but you really feel that he focuses on all the right details and nothing is left out, which is the hallmark of a superior writer. This is absolutely a great gift for a gay friend. I am not gay but I felt a very close sympathy for the main character's predicament. It seems to be a thin veil over Mishima's own experience, and perhaps the story is semi-autobiographical. The translation is pretty good and the Japanese experience shines through, although the setting of the story definitely lends a hand to that.

Different cultures deal with homosexuality in different ways. Mishima's sadomasochistic homosexuality asserted itself early. While still a tiny child, he responded instantly to certain kinds of masculine beauty and found a mysterious fascination in images and narratives of heroic men being tortured and, ideally, killed. The supreme example was a picture of the martyred St. Sebastian, bound and riddled with arrows, which the child Mishima experienced as the world's heaviest turn-on. Naive as he was, the young author still knew somehow that his interests were unusual and disgraceful, so he kept them secret--thus he created the metaphorical "mask" to hide his true feelings. The story of his early inner life, with its crushes and fantasies, takes up the first half or so of the book and is fascinating. But then, during young manhood, Mishima tries to become "normal" and fall in love with a girl. Though he likes her very much, he isn't attracted to her physically. The story of this doomed relationship takes up the second half of the book. Being more or less devoid of incident, and (obviously) lacking in erotic passion, it's tedious and difficult to read. Confessions of a Mask ends disappointingly but the earlier section of the book gives a candid, moving, and memorable account of a child's confused and troubled emerging sexuality as it deals with the cultural norms of a repressive country. If you are interested in Japanese culture and homosexuality I would strongly recommend Covering by Kemji Yoshimo.

Reviews

Great overview of all African masks, with intelligent background and supportive material. Not just a picture book or rehash of oft-repeated images. Really a book to be used and absorbed.. It will be a great help.

I bought the hardcover version of this & it is well worth the additional expense because the photos are excellent in quality & number. The printing of the photos is of a very high quality. The book is well organized by region & tribes; since many tribes do not adhere to modern borders. I also bought THE TRIBAL ARTS OF AFRICA it is very good but the organization is poor (by region & country) and the descriptions for the smaller photos are not in the same order as the photos, so one has to really search to find out what one is looking at. Whereas the variety and great quality of the photos in AFRICAN MASKS enabled me to definitively identify a mask I acquired 30 years ago. If you collect or love viewing West African carvings I recommend investing in the hardcover version.

This is the best book I have found on the psychology and understanding of African masks. Just fantastic, worth the money. 80% color plates, brief outline of basic African mask types and their interpretation, grouped by region and by style.

This is the best book I have found on the psychology and understanding of African masks. Just fantastic, worth the money. 80% color plates, brief outline of basic African mask types and their interpretation, grouped by region and by style.

First-rate, high quality throughout, this volume does what a book of this type should do: packs in plenty of color plates of the masks, and shows them being worn (in black-and-white in situ photos) on the accompanying left-hand pages of the spreads. The collection is far-ranging and, though it cannot include every type of mask, it does manage to convey the incredible variety, richness and paradoxical sophistication of this art form. Highly recommended.

Reviews

not what i ecpected , its like a musuem index with black and white photos, some intersting masks, not inspiring as the cover.

fairly high amount of illustrations not much on the substance of the masks which would be difficult because of the great number of masks illustrated