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Pointy horned and sharp-fanged ... a jealous and vengeful woman turned demon. Metallic eyes ... looks to kill. Metallic teeth ... to gnaw perhaps at ... what? Human flesh? Her nature is one of wrath and anger and resentment. She is the best known of all Noh masks.
She is a striking representative of the magical jewels of Japan. She is the mask used in Noh dramas ... emanating from the Sarugaku repertoire of performing arts ... an ancient agricultural ritual which included acrobatics and juggling and miming and conjuring ... all intermingling with dances and rites at shrines and temples.
There are many Hannya masks. I show you but one. I fear if I showed you two you would be overwhelmed by the savagery of her gaze. If I showed you three ... the less bold amongst you would faint in terror under the malignity of her leer. If I showed you four or more ... it would be kaputsville for even the mightiest in spirit amongst you ... for Hannya has many variations. Her coloring often depicts the degree of her passion.
A gesture with two index finger pointing upwards from a man's forehead is an indication that a man's wife is mad at him. Horns on a man's head may also mean he is being cuckolded. In one tale the unrequited love between a woman and a priest reaches such intensity that Hannya turns into a demonic serpent who wraps her body around a temple bell consuming it and the priest in one fell swoop.
Choose your words and actions carefully when around this creature my friends ... for she is not a demon to mess with. She typifies the beauty of Japanese mask-making used in theatrical productions. And she angers quite easily. And she bites. And she gores. Beware. And oh yeah ... Happy Halloween.
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And there ya have it. That's it for this week folks. Catch you all next week. Benjamin Mark
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