Detail: This small display from the V&A's collection of superb Nō robes and masks, together with prints illustrating performance, is shown in the Museum's gallery dedicated to the arts of Japan. It complements the tour of Nō performance and associated events being presented across the UK this autumn. The V&A has been collecting Nō masks - worn by performers of this form of Japanese musical drama - since 1876, a time when the fate of Nō hung in the balance. That same year saw the ban on wearing swords by the samurai - who had been the traditional patrons of Nō for centuries. Many Nō families were forced to sell off their family treasures and western museums were then fortunate enough to acquire many fine examples of these crafts.