The Hannya mask is born from the legend of a woman whose love turned to jealousy and then to rage.
Betrayed and abandoned, her sorrow twisted into obsession until her humanity could no longer contain it.
In her torment she transformed into a demon, her beauty consumed by horns, metallic eyes, and a mouth contorted with fury.
This tale captured the fears of ancient Japan, the destructive force of unchecked emotion and the thin line between devotion and destruction.
Through Noh theatre, the Hannya mask gave that story a face, allowing audiences to confront the darkness of passion in its most human and terrifying form.
It represents the struggle between love and hate, beauty and rage.
The horns show her transformation into a demon, but the sorrow in her eyes reminds us that she was once human.
This balance makes the mask powerful.
It is a warning about how strong emotions like jealousy can destroy, but also a reflection of the vulnerability that exists in every person.
Every detail of the Hannya mask carries meaning.
The horns mark her shift into a demon.
The sharp, metallic eyes show jealousy and rage.
The mouth, twisted between a scream and a cry, reveals both anger and sorrow.
Together, these features create a face that is both terrifying and tragic, capturing the complexity of human emotion in a single design.
THE ARTWORK
HANNYA TEE 般若
Her beauty is lost, but her rage is reborn in cloth.
