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Hannya is a Japanese mask that personifies the female demon, a yokai female who suffers from undesirable emotions such as jealousy and anger.
There are many Japanese stories about devilish women and they are the subject of plays. Nō y kyōgenas well as the dances kagura. In these performances, the interpreter wears the mask. Hannya on stage to embody the demon woman.
However, the mask Hannya brings in itself a symbolic force that is difficult to explain, which I hope to convey with this post, and also that everyone can draw their own conclusions.
Another theory says that the artist was undoubtedly very wise to make such a mask.
The word Hannya comes from the Sanskrit term prajnawhich means "wisdom" or "great knowledge".
Apparently, the oldest mask of devilish women dates back to 1558 and was carved by Hannya-boa monk artist who lived between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Since then all the masks of women demons are called "masks of women demons". Hannya.
All the masks of the theater nō are made of wood and are usually worn by the main actor.
They are used to represent a female or non-human character (divine, demonic or animal) and also to personify young or old people. There are more than 60 characters and each one has a name, as is the case with Hannya.
On the face of an experienced theater actor nōThe "The character", helps them to give life to the character in question and to achieve different expressions through changes in light and head postures.
Westerners tend to associate the mask with the Hannya with the figure of the devil according to the Christian conception, because of its two large pointed horns. The Japanese associate it mainly with the image of a woman. oni. The oni is a very old and common character in Japanese culture.
His hair is black and gives the impression of being wet and disheveled. In the wooden masks or in representations of such masks, long hair is rarely seen, the most usual is that there is some hair surrounding the forehead, that is to say, what fits in the mask.
It should be remembered that the Hannya mask represents devilish female characters from different traditional Japanese tales in the theater. nō.
Already in the engravings and paintings depicting these women, the long black tousled hair, sometimes wet, accompanying the horns, is always visible.
It is also common to see the actor in nō wearing the mask Hannya combined with a kimono with triangular pattern. This is a reference to a special story: Dojoji. Where Kiyohime is transformed into a hannya with body of snake. The triangle pattern of the kimono is a reference to the scales of this creature. Later in this same post more about the history of Kiyohime and other women oni.
The facial expression of the masks nō They denote ambiguity and are designed to demonstrate different emotions with the play of light and the performance of the scenic artists.
The face of the mask Hannya depicts a woman who is no longer human, she seems to be disfigured by exaggerated emotions, but it is difficult to distinguish what they are.
There is a mixture of sadness and fury in the shape of the eyebrows. And a huge, disconcerting smile, in a mouth that shows the canines of a carnivorous animal.
The large eyes and sharp teeth are usually painted gold and the complexion can be of different colors. The most common skin colors are light red, deep red or white.
Surely if one is attending a theater performance nohThe expression of this mask would not be so confusing, it would rather depend on the context.
To understand the personality of HannyaIn addition, it is necessary to familiarize oneself with certain aspects of Japanese folklore that are not generally known to many of the admirers of this culture.
Translations condition the understanding of concepts, as is well known. The word "demonio" is used in Spanish to refer to the yokai "oni" y hannya because of physical similarities they may have, mainly because of the horns and the monstrous and aggressive expression.
However, When it comes to personality, the figure of the devil in the Christian and Manichaeist conception of the West has nothing to do with the oni y hannya.
To learn more about the oniyou can access the section Oni of Japanese Tattoo Icons.
It has previously been said that in the theater noh the mask hannya serves to represent different diabolical female characters. Besides, there are other traditional tales not staged in the theater with figures of women who are driven by jealousy and anger to the point of transforming themselves into demonic creatures. Of those known as hannya I will talk more about it later in "Traditional tales from hannya".
In addition to the yokai called hannyaThere are others who are also called demon women, but they are not emotionally disturbed women.
For example, Kijo y Kijo Momiji are referred to as "demon women" in the Spanish translation of the Encyclopédie Yokai from Shigeru Mizuki.
Kijo y Kijo Momiji are two yokai female sorceresses with a profile similar to that of the sorceresses of the European medieval era and with stories quite different from those of the demon women known as hannya.
Both in literature and mythology, from time immemorial and up to the present day, the resource of half-person and half-animal or monster figures has been used to represent the loss of humanity or rationality when one is totally driven by one's instincts or emotions.
In Japan it is no different, there are many tales and legends that speak of people consumed by their emotions to the point of transforming themselves into yokai. Those considered hannya are just a few among many.
Images of hulk jekill AAA pinterest examples.
Two more modern and well-known Western examples of characters with psychological disorders causing mutations may be "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekill and Mr. Hyde" (Robert Louis Stevenson, 1886) and the famous "Hulk" (Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, 1962).
Understanding the differences between Eastern and Western demons, knowing that not all Japanese female demons are considered to be hannyaand remembering that there are countless characters who undergo external mutations associated with great changes of mood, we can finally delve a little deeper into the profile of hannya.
The woman who transforms into oni due to the toxic force of her feelings for a man may be her partner, lover, mother or simply someone who has fallen in love at first sight in a furtive encounter.
The unbridled emotions of hannya can cause their own death and also that of the loved one.
It is common knowledge that no matter how fantastic they may be, myths, legends and fables from all over the world bring great teachings about human behavior.
The various stories with hannya are no different. They warn us about toxic relationships and how we let ourselves be dragged by emotions or instincts at times. Nothing new, but at the same time very current.
There are several well known stories in which the figure of the hannya. I thought it was important to record at least some of them here, since together they help to form the image of this important character of Japanese culture.
Some of these tales have endured over the centuries through oral and then written tradition. Some of them have been immortalized in the theater. Noh and others in the engravings of Ukiyo-e.
The Hannya mask is still very much present to this day in the sleeveThe tattoos, movies, traditional Japanese festivals and of course in tattoos made all over the world.
Nikutsuki Men means "mask attached to the face" and tells of a case of rivalry between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
Once upon a time there was a woman who lost her husband and child to an illness, but continued to live with her mother-in-law, who had a very bad temper.
Once when the daughter-in-law was going to the graves of her husband and son to pray, she had an unexpected encounter with someone wearing a Hannya mask. It was the mother-in-law who wanted to frighten her for the sheer pleasure of seeing the daughter-in-law terrified.
To the mother-in-law's alarm, she was unable to remove her mask after performing such wickedness. In desperation, she apologized to her daughter-in-law. The latter sought out a monk for help.
Thanks to the monk's prayers and his invocation to BuddhaThe demon mask finally came off the face of the repentant mother-in-law.
According to Shigeru Mizukiprobably the most famous of the stories of demon women is this one, which has been widely spread by those who preached the Buddhist religion.
Onibaba is a great war movie, made by the director and screenwriter Kaneto Shindo.
Kaneto Shindo has been a great natural director and screenwriter of Hiroshima. He was 33 years old when the nuclear attack on his hometown occurred. He died at the age of 100, after directing 48 films and writing the screenplays for another 238. Onibaba.
It is a drama and horror film. But it impacts more by the realistic theory than by the fantastic one. The photography and soundtrack are brutal.
I'm leaving the film here, so I'll try not to make spoiler none for those who are encouraged to watch it.
The only thing I will say is that Kaneto Shindo was inspired by the aforementioned story: Nikutsuki Men. The movie tells the story of a mother-in-law and her daughter-in-law. Of course there is a mask hannya of the company.
For those who do not know Dojoji and want to see this beautiful animation at Stop Motion 19-minute film made in 1976 by Kihachiro Kawamototo do so before reading the following paragraphs in which I tell the legend of the Kiyohime.
This Buddhist legend tells of a young girl who works in a famous teahouse near the Hidaka River. The beautiful girl's name is Kiyo.
Across the river is the Dojoji Buddhist temple where the monks live in their world of devotion. One of them is the handsome novice named Anchin.
The two young people fall in love and begin a romantic relationship, but Anchin remembers his vows and breaks up with Kiyohime.
Kiyo does not accept the breakup. He is furious and decides to take revenge. He goes to the shrine of the god Kompira, a Hindu divinity known for his magic spells. There he prays and asks for power to become a dragon-serpent.
Kiyohime once again seeks out the monk and begs for his love. Anchin rejects her and then he perceives in horror the look of snake in the eyes of the young girl.
The monk runs away and begs the boatman for help to cross the Hidaka River. When they reach the other bank, where the Buddhist temple is, he asks the boatman not to help Kiyo cross the river.
The angry maiden throws herself into the water to catch up with the religious man who chose to stay with her beliefs. As she swims down the river, Kiyohime transforms herself into a snake with Hannya's head.
Anchin runs and hides under the big bell of the Dojoji temple. The dragon-snake searches relentlessly and finds the poor monk. Kiyohime coils with her snake-like body around the bronze hiding place of her beloved. With the ardor of her passion and her fiery breath, she scorches them both .
The once beautiful Kiyohime is burned together with Anchin and the bell of the Dojoji temple.
This legend is very old and has different versions, as is to be expected. I have tried to keep the essence and tell it in a few lines. Some sources refer to the river Kirime and not to Hidaka.
Of all the versions I've read, my favorite is the one by "Myths and Legends of Japan". from Frederick Hadland Davis. There is a link to the purchase of the book in the Inspiration section of the web.
At the beginning of the Meiji era, a young man from a religious family left home for the School of Theology at Ise Shinto Shrine.
On the first night he stopped to sleep at an inn. Unfortunately he did not like the room, which was somewhat gloomy. During the night the young man, already in bed, felt a shiver on the back of his neck and noticed that someone was sitting on his futon. He tried to move and felt he could not, he was totally paralyzed. Suddenly the being that had climbed onto the futon advanced its head towards him. Then he could see perfectly, it was the face of a frightening hannya! The creature opened its mouth and poured its cold breath on the face of the young man, who had spent the whole night suffering.
When dawn finally broke, the young man was able to move and reach the Ise shrine where the school was located in Osaka. There he spent the second night and the hannya appeared again and martyred him in the same way.
Half a year later he was finally able to enter the School of Theology and the creepy creature reappeared. The young man ended up seriously affected by the creature and had to drop out of school.
It is said that the hannya in this case was a spirit that relentlessly pursued this particular young man.
The work Aoi no Ue y Dojoji are two of the most famous in the repertoire. Noh where a person wears the mask Hannya to represent a woman turned into a demon by jealousy.
Aoi no Ue (lady Aoi) is from the period Muromachi (1336-1573) and is based on the novella "The Tales of the Genji"of the period Heian (794-1185) .
In the backstory are the prince Genjiwho had married Aoi at an early age and had a mistress, lady Rokujo.
Previously the lady Rokujo had married the crown prince Zembo and had been next in line to become empress. The death of her husband took away her chance to become empress and left her powerless.
In the course of the story, there is an episode with carriages in which the princess Aoi humiliates Rokujo in public, and another where the mistress (Rokujo) discovers that the prince's wife (Aoi) is pregnant.
As a result Genji begins to ignore RokujoThis causes his resentment and jealousy to grow more and more, to the point that his living spirit leaves his body and possesses the lady. Aoi.
Although the title of this drama is "Aoi no ue (Lady Aoi)", the lady herself does not appear on stage. In the box is placed a kosode to represent the princess Aoi, who is exorcised by a miko and a priest of the Shugendō.
The core of this drama is the lady's affection and jealousy. Rokujōwho appears on the scene as Hannyaa vengeful spirit that takes possession of the lady's body. Aoi.
After a bitter exorcism, the ikiryō (living ghost) of Rokujo calms down and leaves the body of the princess.
You can see here some photos of tattoos I have made with masks. Hannya.
You may find more detailed material in the Tattoo Gallery of the web. There I dedicate a post for each tattoo and I usually upload several photos to better show the details and also tell something more about the work in question.
Here you will find designs from Hannya made by me. In them I try, in my own way, to capture the traditional aesthetics of these masks.
They are drawings designed for tattooing, some of them already tattooed and others available. You can see more drawings like these in the section Drawings of the website, where I also present other characters from the Japanese iconography.
You can access here to my board "Hannya - Yokai - Japanese Mythology" of my account of Pinterest.
The pins you will find are a selection of illustrations and tattoos from various artists, all quite representative in what is about representing this character.
I have created it to be able to easily access these images and use them as a reference when drawing or tattooing.
They are also useful to show my customers and other interested parties who want to see a small selection of interesting references from Hannya.
Knowing the classic representations of a character can help when it is time to specify the idea of a possible tattoo or drawing.
About this article
There is much more to tell about the Hannya masks. This post is open to updates. I will be adding useful information and if you want, you can also participate by leaving your comment!
I am the author of this article. I will be delighted if you disclose this text as long as you cite the source and authorship.
The sources of information used for the creation of this text correspond to the following books and pages cited.
Below are some of the bibliographies I frequently use:
