Transpersonal Functions of Masks in NohKiDo

Authors

Sirkku M. Hiltunen

DOI

10.24972/ijts.2004.23.1.50

Abstract

This article discusses the transpersonal functions of masks in ritual and in drama therapy as

expressed in the creative path of NohKiDo. NohKiDo, whose main components include the

Prism of Consciousness (Personal, Transpersonal, and Universal), the Rainbow Method, Action

Meditation techniques (masked meditation, etc.), and Therapeutic Noh Theater, is a therapeutic

system developed by the author through the redefinition and interpretation of a set of

transpersonal concepts based on Zeami’s (one of the founders of Noh) original Noh formulation

for Therapeutic Noh Theater. The most significant concepts of Ma (heightened energy through

stillness and silence), Mushin-no-kan (transpersonal projection), Ichu no kei (projective imagination),

and Riken no ken (transpersonal mirroring) pertain especially to the transpersonal functions

of masks. The main aim of a Therapeutic Noh Theater performance is to heighten the consciousness

of its actors, as well as the members of its audience, to a transpersonal level; a Therapeutic

Noh Theater performance of Born from Good Angel’s Tears is discussed as an example. The creative

path of NohKiDo is introduced here as a lifelong journey to the spiritual, within and without,

via masks, the arts, and creativity.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Hiltunen, S. M. (2004). Hiltunen, S. M. S. (2004). Transpersonal functions of masks in nohkido. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 23(1), 51–64.. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 23 (1). https://doi.org/10.24972/ijts.2004.23.1.50