Noh Dance New York 1957

Wearing a Noh drama costume and mask, Tatsuo Minagawa does a dance step at the Japan Trade Center, Feb. 25, 1957, New York. The elaborately embroidered costume and mask are on display at the center as features of the first Japan Decorator Show. Noh dancing is the oldest form of entertainment in Japan, and is still popular with the royal family. The costume, valued at $2,500, is like those worn 600 years ago by Imperial Palace performances. It took a skilled artist two years to make it by hand. The mask is one of four on display. They are reproductions of Noh masks carved by master artists from the 13th to the 17th centuries. Minagawa is a Fulbright exchange scholar studying Western music in New York. In Tokyo he teaches at the Tokyo University of Arts. He is a professional Noh Performer. (AP Photo/Dan Grossi)