Hannya

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the mask used in Noh theater. For the Rurouni Kenshin character, see List of Rurouni Kenshin characters § Han'nya. For the moth genus, see Habrosyne.
Wooden hannya mask at the Tokyo National Museum. Edo period, 1600s or 1700s. Important Cultural Property.

The hannya (般若) 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.[1] In Noh plays, the type of mask changes according to the degree of jealousy, resentment, and anger of the female characters. The hannya is a mask that represents a female onryō (怨霊, vengeful spirit) even more resentful, jealous, and angry than the namanari (生成), a woman on the verge of becoming a demoness.[2][3]

The hannya is also called chūnari (中成). The shinjya (真蛇), also called honnari (本成), is a mask that represents the appearance of a female onryō (vengeful spirit) that is even more intense than the hannya. These masks, which represent the jealousy, resentment, and anger of female demons, are classified as jya (蛇, snake) masks.[3]

It is said that there are now more than 250 types of Noh masks, but the oldest historical record of Noh masks, Sarugaku dangi [ja], mentions only about 14 types of masks, and the name hannya is not found among them.[4] However, the Sarugaku dangi records a performance of the Noh play Aoi no Ue, and it is possible that snake-like demoness masks such as hannya were used.[5]

The differentiation of mask types seems to have progressed in the 16th century, and the name hannya appears in the works of Shimoma Nakataka, a monk, samurai and Noh actor active from the 1580s to the 1610s.[4]

Etymology

The word hannya (般若) is a Japanese phonetic transcription of the Sanskrit word prajñā (प्रज्ञा), meaning 'wisdom of the Buddha'.[6] There are several hypotheses as to why the mask used in Noh, which represents a vengeful spirit expressing female jealousy and resentment, was named hannya.[7] According to the first hypothesis, the mask was named hannya because it is said to have been perfected by Hannya-bō (般若坊), a Japanese monk of the Bunmei era (1469–1487).[7][8][1] The second hypothesis is that it was named after the line Ara osoroshi ya, hannya goe ya (あら恐ろしや般若声や, 'What a horrible voice reciting the Heart Sutra') in the Noh play Aoi no Ue.[7] The hannya-goe in this line refers to the voice reciting the Heart Sutra, which repels evil spirits.[9] An alternative explanation is that the artist would need a great deal of wisdom (hannya) in order to create this mask.[8]

Characteristics

Wooden hannya mask at the Tokyo National Museum. By Hayashi Kihei. Edo period, 1800s. Important Cultural Property.

The hannya mask is used in many Noh and kyōgen plays, as well as in Shinto ritual kagura dances.[10] 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.[8][1]

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.[11]

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).[12][13]

Plays associated with hannya

  • Aoi no Ue – worn by the Lady Rokujō in her second-half appearance as a demon.[8][1]
  • Dōjōji – can be worn by the dancing woman in her second-half appearance as a snake, though the shinjya (真蛇) mask is also used.[8][1]
  • 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, shite appears wearing a woman's (tennyo) mask overlaid with hannya mask, and removes the hannya mask in the middle of the scene.[14]
  • 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.[14]
  • Kurozuka (known in the Kanze school as Adachigahara) – worn by the spinning woman of Adachigahara after she is revealed to be a demon.[8][1]
  • Momijigari – can be worn by the noblewoman after she is revealed to be a demon.[8][1]
  • Aoi no Ue. Ukiyo-e print by Kōgyo Tsukioka.
    Aoi no Ue. Ukiyo-e print by Kōgyo Tsukioka.
  • Dōjōji. Painted by Kōgyo Tsukioka.
    Dōjōji. Painted by Kōgyo Tsukioka.
  • Kurozuka. Scene of confrontation between a demoness and two monks. Ukiyo-e print by Kōgyo Tsukioka.
    Kurozuka. Scene of confrontation between a demoness and two monks. Ukiyo-e print by Kōgyo Tsukioka.

Masks similar to hannya

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 deigan (泥眼) and hashihime (橋姫) masks described below are each classified as a separate mask type, while the namanari (生成), hannya (般若), jya (蛇), and shinjya (真蛇) masks are classified as jya (蛇, snake) masks. The adachi onna (安達女) mask type is a type of hannya mask and is used exclusively in the Adachigahara (安達ヶ原) performance.[15]

The deigan (泥眼) 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 onryō (怨霊, vengeful spirit) or ikiryō (生霊, disembodied spirit). It is used in the Noh plays Kanawa and Aoi no Ue.[16][17] The 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 Ama (海士) and Taema (当麻) performances, the mask is used to represent a woman who has become a dragoness or a bodhisattva.[18]

The hashihime (橋姫) mask is painted red from the eyes down, and has more disheveled hair and more prominent golden eyes than the deigan mask. These features of the mask indicate that the woman has a strong desire for revenge. It is used in the Noh plays Kanawa and Hashihime.[19][15]

The namanari (生成) mask represents a woman in the process of becoming a demoness, with short horns sprouting from both sides of her forehead. Compared to the hannya, the namanari mask represents the psychological state of a woman who is still emotionally attached to her husband. Namanari is used exclusively as a mask for the Noh play Kanawa.[2][18]

The mask that represents a woman who has become a demoness is hannya, and hannya is also called chūnari or nakanari (中成) in contrast to namanari.[3]

The mask that represents a demoness who becomes even more furious and looks like a snake is a jya (蛇), meaning 'snake', and the one that is even more furious is shinjya (真蛇), meaning 'true snake'. These masks are sometimes called honnari (本成) in contrast to namanari and chūnari.[3] The masks of jya and shinjya have tongues peeking out of their mouths, and some masks have no ears, making them look more like snakes than humans.[20] 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.[21] In some schools, jya or shinjya is used as an alternative mask to hannya in Dōjōji.[20]

  • Deigan mask at the Tokyo National Museum. Edo period, 1600s. Important Cultural Property.
    Deigan mask at the Tokyo National Museum. Edo period, 1600s. Important Cultural Property.
  • Hashihime mask at the Tokyo National Museum. Edo period, 1600s.
    Hashihime mask at the Tokyo National Museum. Edo period, 1600s.
  • Namanari mask at the Tokyo National Museum. Edo period, 1700s or 1800s.
    Namanari mask at the Tokyo National Museum. Edo period, 1700s or 1800s.
  • hannya (Chūnari) mask at the Tokyo National Museum. Edo period, 1600s or 1700s.
    hannya (Chūnari) mask at the Tokyo National Museum. Edo period, 1600s or 1700s.
  • Shinjya mask. (Honnnari)
    Shinjya mask. (Honnnari)

Hannya in Bunraku

Hannya type head of a bunraku puppet

Hannya also appears in Bunraku, a puppet theater that began in the Edo period. The Japan Arts Council (ja) lists 129 types of puppet heads, and hannya is one of them.[22] A puppet head of the gabu type can also represent hannya. The 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 hannya. When the puppeteer pulls the string attached to the gabu, the puppet with the face of a beautiful woman is transformed into a terrifying hannya with golden horns, large golden eyes, a mouth that reaches to the ears, and fangs.[23][24]

In popular culture

18th century netsuke shaped like a hannya mask

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "hannya". Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System JAANUS. Archived from the original on 21 December 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  2. ^
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  3. ^
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  4. ^
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  5. ISBN 978-4585270270
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  6. ^ 般若 (in Japanese). Kotobank. Archived from the original on 2 January 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  7. ^ a b c 能面「般若（白）」 (in Japanese). Tamagawa University Museum of Education. Archived from the original on 28 June 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g "Onryô - Hannya". the-noh.com. Archived from the original on 19 October 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  9. ^ 般若声 (in Japanese). Kotobank. Archived from the original on 3 January 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  10. JSTOR 1177614
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  11. ISBN 0-8348-1529-X
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  12. S2CID 161312412
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  13. ^ Bethe, Monica; Emmert, Richard (1997). Aoi no Ue, Noh Performance Guide 7. Tokyo: National Noh Theatre.
  14. ^
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    )
  15. ^
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  16. ^ "ColBase" 能面 泥眼 天下一河内 (in Japanese). ColBase. Archived from the original on 8 February 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  17. ^ "ColBase" 能面 泥眼 越智作/満昆（花押） (in Japanese). ColBase. Archived from the original on 8 February 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  18. ^ a b 能面の世界 女面 (in Japanese). Fukuoka City Museum. Archived from the original on 7 July 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  19. ^ やさしい能面入門講座 (PDF) (in Japanese). Yatsushiro Municipal Museum. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 February 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  20. ^
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  21. ISBN 978-4902854657
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  22. ^ 首（かしら）で探す (in Japanese). Japan Arts Council. Archived from the original on 12 May 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  23. ^ かしらの種類 (in Japanese). Japan Arts Council. Archived from the original on 13 January 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  24. ^ "Bunraku Dolls: Types of Heads". Japan Arts Council. Archived from the original on 15 August 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  25. ISBN 9789539518804
    . Retrieved 16 June 2021. Maska s dva kratka roga ic zvana Hannya predstavlja ženskoga demona ljubomore i gnjeva, kojeg c se često koristilo u nô drami.
  26. Millennium Film Journal
    . No. 2. 1978. p. 88. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  27. ^ "- YouTube". YouTube.

External links

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