Dating back to the 14th century, the Noh mask (能面) was used in classical Japanese theater. Among them, the female masks may look a bit unsettling at first, but they were actually modeled the ideal beauty of the time—a pale face, blackened teeth, and a narrow forehead. In modern times, thanks to Japanese horror games and urban legends, the mask has become firmly associated with the spooky and supernatural. But historically, it wasn’t meant to be frightening at all. Its neutral expression—neither

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