{{Short description|Mask used in Japanese Noh theatre}} {{About|the mask used in Noh theater|the Rurouni Kenshin character|List of Rurouni Kenshin characters#Han'nya|the moth genus|Habrosyne}} {{italic title}} [[File:Noh Mask Hannya type.jpg|thumb|Wooden {{transliteration|ja|hannya}} mask at the Tokyo National Museum. Edo period, 1600s or 1700s. Important Cultural Property.]] The {{nihongo||般若|'''hannya'''}} is a mask used in a traditional Japanese Noh theater, representing a jealous female demon. It is characterized by two sharp bull-like horns, metallic eyes, and a leering mouth.<ref name="hannya"/> In Noh plays, the type of mask changes according to the degree of jealousy, resentment, and anger of the female characters. The {{transliteration|ja|hannya}} is a mask that represents a female ''onryō'', even more resentful, jealous, and angry than the {{nihongo||生成|namanari}}, a woman on the verge of becoming a demoness.<ref name="jiten651"/><ref name="kurabayashi"/>
The {{transliteration|ja|hannya}} is also called {{nihongo||中成|chūnari}}. The {{nihongo||真蛇|shinjya}}, also called {{nihongo||本成|honnari}}, is a mask that represents the appearance of a female ''onryō'', even more intense than the {{transliteration|ja|hannya}}. These masks, which represent the jealousy, resentment, and anger of female demons, are classified as {{nihongo3|snake|蛇|jya}} masks.<ref name="kurabayashi"/>
It is said that there are now more than 250 types of Noh masks, but the oldest historical record of Noh masks, {{ill|Sarugaku dangi|ja|世子六十以後申楽談儀}}, mentions only about 14 types of masks, and the name {{transliteration|ja|hannya}} is not found among them.<ref name="kobe11">{{cite book|pages=11–12|title=能面を科学する 世界の仮面と演劇|author=Research Center of Classic Performing Arts, Kobe Women's University|publisher=Benseisha Publishing Inc.|year=2016|isbn=978-4585270270}}</ref> However, the {{transliteration|ja|Sarugaku dangi}} records a performance of the Noh play {{transliteration|ja|Aoi no Ue}}, and it is possible that snake-like demoness masks such as {{transliteration|ja|hannya}} were used.<ref>{{cite book|pages=210–211|title=能面を科学する 世界の仮面と演劇|author=Research Center of Classic Performing Arts, Kobe Women's University|publisher=Benseisha Publishing Inc.|year=2016|isbn=978-4585270270}}</ref>
The differentiation of mask types seems to have progressed in the 16th century, and the name {{transliteration|ja|hannya}} appears in the works of Shimoma Nakataka, a monk, samurai and Noh actor active from the 1580s to the 1610s.<ref name="kobe11"/>
==Etymology== The word {{nihongo||般若|hannya}} is a Japanese phonetic transcription of the Sanskrit word {{transliteration|sa|prajñā}} ({{lang|sa|प्रज्ञा}}), meaning 'wisdom'.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kotobank.jp/word/%E8%88%AC%E8%8B%A5-118535|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102080617/https://kotobank.jp/word/%E8%88%AC%E8%8B%A5-118535|script-title=ja:般若|language=ja|publisher=Kotobank|archive-date=2 January 2023|access-date=14 January 2023}}</ref> There are several hypotheses as to why the mask used in Noh, which represents a vengeful spirit expressing female jealousy and resentment, was named {{transliteration|ja|hannya}}.<ref name="tamagawa">{{cite web|url=https://www.tamagawa.ac.jp/museum/archive/2007/186.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220628065834/https://www.tamagawa.ac.jp/museum/archive/2007/186.html|script-title=ja:能面「般若（白）」|language=ja|publisher=Tamagawa University Museum of Education|archive-date=28 June 2022|access-date=14 January 2023}}</ref> According to the first hypothesis, the mask was named {{transliteration|ja|hannya}} because it is said to have been perfected by {{nihongo|Hannya-bō|般若坊}}, a Japanese monk of the Bunmei era (1469–1487).<ref name="tamagawa"/><ref name="onryo">{{cite web|url=http://www.the-noh.com/sub/jp/index.php?mode=db&action=e_view_detail&data_id=11&class_id=1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221019061925/http://www.the-noh.com/sub/jp/index.php?mode=db&action=e_view_detail&data_id=11&class_id=1|title=Onryô - Hannya|publisher=the-noh.com|archive-date=19 October 2022|access-date=14 January 2023}}</ref><ref name="hannya">{{cite web|url=http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/h/hannya.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221221115836/http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/h/hannya.htm|title=hannya |publisher= Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System JAANUS|archive-date=21 December 2022|access-date=14 January 2023}}</ref> The second hypothesis is that it was named after the line {{nihongo3|'What a horrible voice reciting the Heart Sutra'|あら恐ろしや般若声や|Ara osoroshi ya, hannya goe ya}} in the Noh play {{transliteration|ja|Aoi no Ue}}.<ref name="tamagawa"/> The {{transliteration|ja|hannya-goe}} in this line refers to the voice reciting the Heart Sutra, which repels evil spirits.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kotobank.jp/word/%E8%88%AC%E8%8B%A5%E5%A3%B0-607123|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220103125234/https://kotobank.jp/word/%E8%88%AC%E8%8B%A5%E5%A3%B0-607123|script-title=ja:般若声|language=ja|publisher=Kotobank|archive-date=3 January 2022|access-date=14 January 2023}}</ref> An alternative explanation is that the artist would need a great deal of wisdom ({{transliteration|ja|hannya}}) in order to create this mask.<ref name="onryo"/>
==Characteristics== thumb|right|Wooden {{transliteration|ja|hannya}} mask at the Tokyo National Museum. By Hayashi Kihei. Edo period, 1800s. Important Cultural Property.
The {{transliteration|ja|hannya}} mask is used in many Noh and {{transliteration|ja|kyōgen}} plays, as well as in Shinto ritual {{transliteration|ja|kagura}} dances.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Sadler |first=A.W |title='O-Kagura'. Field Notes on the Festival Drama in Modern Tokyo |journal=Asian Folklore Studies |volume=29 |pages=294 |jstor=1177614|year=1970 |doi=10.2307/1177614 }}</ref> The {{transliteration|ja|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 {{transliteration|ja|hannya}} mask include {{transliteration|ja|Aoi no Ue}} and {{transliteration|ja|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.<ref name="onryo"/><ref name="hannya"/>
The {{transliteration|ja|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.<ref name=Komparu>{{cite book |last1=Komparu |first1=Kunio |title=The Noh Theater: Principles and Perspectives |date=1983 |publisher=John Weatherhill |location=New York / Tokyo |isbn=0-8348-1529-X}}</ref>
{{transliteration|ja|Hannya}} masks appear in various skin tones: a white mask indicates a woman with a refined character (such as the aristocratic Lady Rokujō in {{transliteration|ja|Aoi no Ue}}), a red mask depicts a less refined character (like the spirit of peasant girl seen in {{transliteration|ja|Dōjōji}}), and the darkest red depicts true demons (revealed after appearing as women, as in {{transliteration|ja|Momijigari}} and {{transliteration|ja|Kurozuka}}).<ref>{{cite journal|last=Coldiron |first=Margaret |title=Lions, Witches, and Happy Old Men: Some Parallels between Balinese and Japanese Ritual Masks |journal=Asian Theatre Journal |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=227–248 |year=2005|doi=10.1353/atj.2005.0021 |jstor=4137132|s2cid=161312412 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Bethe |first1=Monica |last2=Emmert |first2=Richard |title=Aoi no Ue, Noh Performance Guide 7 |publisher=National Noh Theatre |year=1997 |location=Tokyo}}</ref>
==Plays associated with {{transliteration|ja|hannya}}== *{{transliteration|ja|Aoi no Ue}} – worn by the Lady Rokujō in her second-half appearance as a demon.<ref name="onryo"/><ref name="hannya"/> *{{transliteration|ja|Dōjōji}} – can be worn by the dancing woman in her second-half appearance as a snake, though the {{nihongo||真蛇|shinjya}} mask is also used.<ref name="onryo"/><ref name="hannya"/> *{{transliteration|ja|Genzai Shichimen}} – The story is about a woman who appears to Nichiren and reveals her true identity as a giant snake, but is transformed into a heavenly maiden by the Nichiren's recitation of sutras. In the scene where the serpent transforms into a heavenly maiden, {{transliteration|ja|shite}} appears wearing a woman's ({{transliteration|ja|tennyo}}) mask overlaid with {{transliteration|ja|hannya}} mask, and removes the {{transliteration|ja|hannya}} mask in the middle of the scene.<ref name="jiten200">{{cite book|pages=200, 307, 741|title=能楽大事典|author=Seki Kobayashi, Tetsuo Nishi, and Hisashi Hata|publisher=Chikuma Shobō|year=2012|isbn=978-4480873576}}</ref> *{{transliteration|ja|Kanawa}} – the story of a woman who is divorced from her husband and becomes a demon, cursing him and his future wife, but is repelled by the prayers of Abe no Seimei.<ref name="jiten200"/> *{{transliteration|ja|Kurozuka}} (known in the Kanze school as {{transliteration|ja|Adachigahara}}) – worn by the spinning woman of Adachigahara after she is revealed to be a demon.<ref name="onryo"/><ref name="hannya"/> *{{transliteration|ja|Momijigari}} – can be worn by the noblewoman after she is revealed to be a demon.<ref name="onryo"/><ref name="hannya"/>
<gallery widths="200" heights="200"> File:Scene uit het Noh theaterstuk Aoinoue Aoinoue (titel op object) Honderd Noh spelen (serietitel) Nogaku hyakuban (serietitel op object), RP-P-2003-279.jpg|{{transliteration|ja|Aoi no Ue}}. Ukiyo-e print by Kōgyo Tsukioka. File:Dojoji道成寺.jpg|{{transliteration|ja|Dōjōji}}. Painted by Kōgyo Tsukioka. File:Matsuke Heikichi - Nogaku zue - Walters 95252.jpg|{{transliteration|ja|Kurozuka}}. Scene of confrontation between a demoness and two monks. Ukiyo-e print by Kōgyo Tsukioka. </gallery>
== Masks similar to {{transliteration|ja|hannya}} == [[File:Inrō with Noh Masks.jpg|thumb|{{transliteration|ja|Inro}} with Noh masks. (front and back) Edo period, 1800s. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.]] In Noh plays, the type of mask changes according to the degree of jealousy, resentment, and anger of the female characters.
The {{nihongo||泥眼|deigan}} and {{nihongo||橋姫|hashihime}} masks described below are each classified as a separate mask type, while the {{nihongo||生成|namanari}}, {{nihongo||般若|hannya}}, {{nihongo||蛇|jya}}, and {{nihongo||真蛇|shinjya}} masks are classified as {{nihongo3|snake|蛇|jya}} masks. The {{nihongo||安達女|adachi onna}} mask type is a type of {{transliteration|ja|hannya}} mask and is used exclusively in the {{nihongo||安達ヶ原|Adachigahara}} performance.<ref name="nishino12"/>
The {{nihongo||泥眼|deigan}} mask is a mask that represents the first stage of a woman's transformation into a demoness as her emotions begin to rise. The gold-painted eyes and tooth tips on the masks indicate that the women have already begun the transformation from human to {{nihongo3|vengeful spirit|怨霊|onryō}} or {{nihongo3|disembodied spirit|生霊|ikiryō}}. It is used in the Noh plays {{transliteration|ja|Kanawa}} and {{transliteration|ja|Aoi no Ue}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://colbase.nich.go.jp/collection_items/tnm/C-1538?locale=ja|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208174354/https://colbase.nich.go.jp/collection_items/tnm/C-1538?locale=ja|script-title=ja:能面 泥眼 天下一河内|language=ja|publisher=ColBase|archive-date=8 February 2023|access-date=8 February 2023 | title=ColBase }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://colbase.nich.go.jp/collection_items/tnm/C-43?|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208174352/https://colbase.nich.go.jp/collection_items/tnm/C-43?locale=ja|script-title=ja:能面 泥眼 越智作/満昆（花押）|language=ja|publisher=ColBase|archive-date=8 February 2023|access-date=8 February 2023 | title=ColBase }}</ref> The {{transliteration|ja|deigan}} mask is also used as a mask that is not associated with a woman's resentment, jealousy, or anger, but simply represents that she has gone from human to supernatural beings. For example, in the {{nihongo||海士|Ama}} and {{nihongo||当麻|Taema}} performances, the mask is used to represent a woman who has become a dragoness or a bodhisattva.<ref name="fukuoka">{{cite web|url=http://museum.city.fukuoka.jp/archives/leaflet/186/index02.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220707161010/http://museum.city.fukuoka.jp/archives/leaflet/186/index02.html|script-title=ja:能面の世界 女面|language=ja|publisher=Fukuoka City Museum|archive-date=7 July 2022|access-date=8 February 2023}}</ref>
The {{nihongo||橋姫|hashihime}} mask is painted red from the eyes down, and has more disheveled hair and more prominent golden eyes than the {{transliteration|ja|deigan}} mask. These features of the mask indicate that the woman has a strong desire for revenge. It is used in the Noh plays {{transliteration|ja|Kanawa}} and {{transliteration|ja|Hashihime}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.city.yatsushiro.kumamoto.jp/museum/event/per_ex2/pdf/noh_m.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150209040009/http://www.city.yatsushiro.kumamoto.jp/museum/event/per_ex2/pdf/noh_m.pdf|script-title=ja:やさしい能面入門講座|language=ja|publisher=Yatsushiro Municipal Museum|archive-date=9 February 2015|access-date=8 February 2023}}</ref><ref name="nishino12">{{cite book|pages=26, 42|title=能面の世界|author=Haruo Nishino|publisher=Heibonsha|year=2012|isbn=978-4582634716}}</ref>
The {{nihongo||生成|namanari}} mask represents a woman in the process of becoming a demoness, with short horns sprouting from both sides of her forehead. Compared to the {{transliteration|ja|hannya}}, the {{transliteration|ja|namanari}} mask represents the psychological state of a woman who is still emotionally attached to her husband. {{transliteration|ja|Namanari}} is used exclusively as a mask for the Noh play {{transliteration|ja|Kanawa}}.<ref name="jiten651">{{cite book|page=651|title=能楽大事典|author=Seki Kobayashi, Tetsuo Nishi, and Hisashi Hata|publisher=Chikuma Shobō|year=2012|isbn=978-4480873576}}</ref><ref name="fukuoka"/>
The mask that represents a woman who has become a demoness is {{transliteration|ja|hannya}}, and {{transliteration|ja|hannya}} is also called {{transliteration|ja|chūnari}} or {{nihongo||中成|nakanari}} in contrast to {{transliteration|ja|namanari}}.<ref name="kurabayashi">{{cite book|pages=6, 7, 39|title=般若面を打つ 原寸型紙と詳細なプロセス写真で学ぶ|author=Akira Kurabayashi|publisher=Japan Publications, Inc.|year=2013|isbn=978-4817050823}}</ref>
The mask that represents a demoness who becomes even more furious and looks like a snake is a {{nihongo||蛇|jya}}, meaning 'snake', and the one that is even more furious is {{nihongo||真蛇|shinjya}}, meaning 'true snake'. These masks are sometimes called {{nihongo||本成|honnari}} in contrast to {{transliteration|ja|namanari}} and {{transliteration|ja|chūnari}}.<ref name="kurabayashi"/> The masks of {{transliteration|ja|jya}} and {{transliteration|ja|shinjya}} have tongues peeking out of their mouths, and some masks have no ears, making them look more like snakes than humans.<ref name="jiten439">{{cite book|pages=439, 478|title=能楽大事典|author=Seki Kobayashi, Tetsuo Nishi, and Hisashi Hata|publisher=Chikuma Shobō|year=2012|isbn=978-4480873576}}</ref> In Buddhism, a person who hindered enlightenment was sometimes likened to a poisonous snake. While women, unlike men, were regarded as beings incapable of attaining enlightenment, they were often likened to demoness or poisonous or evil snakes, and when their desires were not satisfied, they were believed to kill people in order to take revenge.<ref name="nogami713">{{cite book|pages=713, 714|title=能とは何か 下 (専門篇) ― 野上豊一郎批評集成|author=Toyoichiro Nogami|publisher=Shoshi Shinsui|year=2009|isbn=978-4902854657}}</ref> In some schools, {{transliteration|ja|jya}} or {{transliteration|ja|shinjya}} is used as an alternative mask to {{transliteration|ja|hannya}} in {{transliteration|ja|Dōjōji}}.<ref name="jiten439"/>
<gallery widths="140" heights="180"> File:Deigan-.jpg|{{transliteration|ja|Deigan}} mask at the Tokyo National Museum. Edo period, 1600s. Important Cultural Property. File:Hashihime type noh mask, Edo period, 1600s AD, wood, polychromy - Tokyo National Museum - Ueno Park, Tokyo, Japan - DSC08979.jpg|{{transliteration|ja|Hashihime}} mask at the Tokyo National Museum. Edo period, 1600s. File:Namanari type noh mask, Edo period, 1700s-1800s AD, wood, polychromy - Tokyo National Museum - Ueno Park, Tokyo, Japan - DSC08971.jpg|{{transliteration|ja|Namanari}} mask at the Tokyo National Museum. Edo period, 1700s or 1800s. File:Han'nya type noh mask, with inscription Omi utsu, Edo period, 1600s-1700s AD, wood, polychromy - Tokyo National Museum - Ueno Park, Tokyo, Japan - DSC08983.jpg|{{transliteration|ja|hannya}} ({{transliteration|ja|Chūnari}}) mask at the Tokyo National Museum. Edo period, 1600s or 1700s. File:Shinjya-1j.jpg|{{transliteration|ja|Shinjya}} mask. ({{transliteration|ja|Honnnari}}) </gallery>
== {{transliteration|ja|Hannya}} in {{transliteration|ja|Bunraku}} == [[File:Hannya, masque de marionnette de bunraku, Japon, XXe siècle.jpg|thumb|{{transliteration|ja|Hannya}} type head of a {{transliteration|ja|bunraku}} puppet]] {{transliteration|ja|Hannya}} also appears in {{transliteration|ja|Bunraku}}, a puppet theater that began in the Edo period. The Japan Arts Council (ja) lists 129 types of puppet heads, and {{transliteration|ja|hannya}} is one of them.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.ntj.jac.go.jp/dglib/plays/search?division=plays&class=bunraku&type=head&istart=all|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230512074014/https://www2.ntj.jac.go.jp/dglib/plays/search?division=plays&class=bunraku&type=head&istart=all|script-title=ja:首（かしら）で探す|language=ja|publisher=Japan Arts Council|archive-date=12 May 2023|access-date=12 May 2023}}</ref> A puppet head of the {{transliteration|ja|gabu}} type can also represent {{transliteration|ja|hannya}}. The {{transliteration|ja|gabu}} is equipped with a device that allows the puppet to change its facial expression instantly by pulling a string. In this way, a single head can represent the transformation of a beautiful woman into {{transliteration|ja|hannya}}. When the puppeteer pulls the string attached to the {{transliteration|ja|gabu}}, the puppet with the face of a beautiful woman is transformed into a terrifying {{transliteration|ja|hannya}} with golden horns, large golden eyes, a mouth that reaches to the ears, and fangs.<ref name="kashira80">{{cite web|url=https://www2.ntj.jac.go.jp/dglib/contents/learn/edc26/ningyo/kashira1.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230113022949/https://www2.ntj.jac.go.jp/dglib/contents/learn/edc26/ningyo/kashira1.html|script-title=ja:かしらの種類|language=ja|publisher=Japan Arts Council|archive-date=13 January 2023|access-date=12 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.ntj.jac.go.jp/unesco/bunraku/en/doll/head3.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220815235718/https://www2.ntj.jac.go.jp/unesco/bunraku/en/doll/head3.html|title=Bunraku Dolls: Types of Heads|publisher=Japan Arts Council|archive-date=15 August 2022|access-date=12 May 2023}}</ref> {{Clear}}
==In popular culture== [[Image:Hannya.jpg|thumb|right|18th century {{transliteration|ja|netsuke}} shaped like a {{transliteration|ja|hannya}} mask]] {{Multiple issues|section=yes| {{More citations needed|section|date=June 2021}} {{Excessive examples|section|date=June 2021}} {{Original research|section|date=June 2021}} }} * In the mobile game {{transliteration|ja|Onmyoji}}, the character Hannya is a {{transliteration|ja|shikigami}} who has a {{transliteration|ja|hannya}} mask on his forehead and another on his back. *In the manga and anime ''Rurouni Kenshin'', a character named Hannya wears one of these masks and it is his namesake. *In the ''Yakuza'' video game series, the character Goro Majima has a large tattoo of a {{transliteration|ja|hannya}} on his back. He also has an alter-ego, Hannya-Man, in {{transliteration|ja|Yakuza Kiwami}}, that wears a {{transliteration|ja|hannya}} mask. * In a ''Detective Conan'' anime-only case, a woman who killed the people who drove her sister to suicide used the {{transliteration|ja|hannya}} as a murder motif. The {{transliteration|ja|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 1998 survival horror video game ''Clock Tower II: The Struggle Within'', a character named George Maxwell wears a {{transliteration|ja|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 2001 horror video game ''Fatal Frame'', the Himuro family master wears a hannya mask. The game also features puzzles involving other Noh masks. * In the 2014 video game The Battle Cats there is a boss that wears a Hannya mask, and is called "Hannya" * In the 2019 action adventure video game ''Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice'', one of the bosses named the Corrupted Monk wears a {{transliteration|ja|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. * In the 2022 action-adventure video game ''Ghostwire: Tokyo'', the main antagonists conceals their identities with {{transliteration|ja|hannya}} masks.
==See also== * Hungry ghost
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/90981/rec/1 Netsuke: masterpieces from the Metropolitan Museum of Art], an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains many examples of Hannya
Category:Female legendary creatures Category:Japanese legendary creatures Category:Masks in Asia Category:Noh Category:Oni