Hannya

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The ***hannya*** (般若) mask is a mask used in Japanese Noh theater, representing a jealous female demon. It is characterized by two sharp bull-like horns, metallic eyes, and a leering mouth.

## Etymology

The name *'hannya'* (般若) is a Sino-Japanese[*clarification needed*] word for 'prajna', or wisdom. One tradition states that this name was given to this mask after the name of an artist monk Hannya-bō (般若坊), who is said to have perfected its creation. An alternative explanation is that the artist would need a great deal of wisdom in order to create this mask.

## Characteristics

The *hannya* mask is used in many Noh and *kyōgen* plays, as well as in Shinto ritual *kagura* dances. The *hannya* mask portrays the souls of women who have become demons due to obsession or jealousy, similar to the Buddhist concept of a hungry ghost. Plays in which a person may wear the *hannya* mask include *Aoi no Ue* and *Dōjōji*; its use in these two plays, two of the most famous of the Noh repertoire, and its distinctive and frightening appearance make it one of the most recognizable Noh masks.

The *hannya* mask is said to be demonic and dangerous but also sorrowful and tormented, displaying the complexity of human emotions. When the actor looks straight ahead, the mask appears frightening and angry; when tilted slightly down, the face of the demon appears to be sorrowful, as though crying. The ability to change the expression of the mask through use of perspective is a feature commonly seen in Noh theatre. The oldest *hannya* mask is dated 1558.[*citation needed*]

*Hannya* masks appear in various skin tones: a white mask indicates a woman with a refined character (such as the aristocratic Lady Rokujō in *Aoi no Ue*), a red mask depicts a less refined character (like the spirit of peasant girl seen in *Dōjōji*), and the darkest red depicts true demons (revealed after appearing as women, as in *Momijigari* and *Kurozuka*).

## In popular culture

In the 1964 Japanese horror film *Onibaba*, an older woman wears a *hannya* mask after stealing it from a samurai.

The 1975 Japanese experimental short film *Ātman* depicts a figure in an outdoor environment, wearing a robe and a *hannya* mask.

*The Demon* (鬼), a stop-motion short film by Kihachirō Kawamoto, features an *onibaba* with the face of a *hannya*.

In the mobile game *Onmyoji*, the character Hannya is a *shikigami* who has a *hannya* mask on his forehead and another on his back.

In the *Yakuza* video game series, the character Goro Majima has a large tattoo of a *hannya* on his back. He also has an alter-ego, Hannya-Man, in *Yakuza Kiwami*, that wears a *hannya* mask.

In a *Detective Conan* anime-only case, a woman who killed the people who drove her sister to suicide used the *hannya* as a murder motif. The *hannya* legend also influences a local tradition that follows the story of two envious girls who set up another named Ohana to be executed so they can steal her various kimono, but end up murdered by Ohana's vengeful soul, reborn as an immortal demon.

In the 1995 platform game *Mega Man 7*, the boss of the third Wily Fortress stage is HannyaNED², a *hannya*-shaped flying robot Dr. Wily had found frozen in a glacier and that swore loyalty to him after being rescued.

In the 1998 survival horror video game *Clock Tower II: The Struggle Within*, a character named George Maxwell wears a *hannya* mask while wielding a large hatchet, implying when he was infected with a parasitic bacteria and became insane, he concealed his face with the mask.

In the 2019 action adventure video game *Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice*, one of the bosses named the Corrupted Monk wears a *hannya* mask to conceal her true face. She is based on the story of Yao Bikuni and the Ningyo and bears a likeness to her story, being an immortal monk who gained immortality due to eating a type of meat.

## Play associated with hannya

* *Aoi no Ue* - worn by the Lady Rokujō in her second-half appearance as a demon.
* *Dōjōji* - can be worn by the dancing woman in her second-half appearance as a snake, though the *shinja* (真蛇) mask is also used.
* *Kurozuka* (known in the Kanze school as *Adachigahara*) - worn by the spinning woman of Adachigahara after she is revealed to be a demon.
* *Momijigari* - can be worn by the noblewoman after she is revealed to be a demon.