🎭 JAPANESE THEATER TRADITIONAL VINTAGE NOH MASK HANNYA (般若) HAND SIGNED 🎭 For Sale

The term hannya (般若), from which the mask takes its name, is originally a Buddhist term meaning “wisdom” and does not in itself refer to a demon. The horns are thought to be the result of reason spiraling out of control. While male demons act on instinct, thinking things like “I have a desire to eat” or “That girl is beautiful,” female demons are often the result of overthinking. Their intelligence is what causes them to lose control. Perhaps that has not changed from the past to the present. What makes female demons so formidable is that, deep down, they know “I should not do this” or “I should not think this.” And yet they cannot suppress their resentment. In Kanawa as well, it is precisely because of love that women feel anguish. They are driven by the feeling that if it were not someone they cared about, they would not suffer in that way.