Spirits

Onryō masks comprise those for suffering ghosts and  malicious spirits. Perhaps the best known is the Hannya mask, used for women transfigured into evil spirits because of their obsessive attachment to an earthly feeling, as in the case of the jealousy of Lady Rokujō in the play Aoinoue. The Hannya mask shares common features with women’s masks, such as high painted eyebrows and parted hair, but its extremely contorted expression, highlighted by bulging golden eyes and a huge fanged mouth, give a feeling of both rage and suffering. Gold eyeballs distinguish all onryō masks and mark even gentler more feminine examples. Male onryō masks include malevolent beings (Ayakashi)  and maligned ghosts suffering in hell (Yase-otoko).  

Hannya 般若

Roles	Aggressive female spirit.
Plays	Aoinoue, Kurozuka, Dо̄jо̄ji, Momiji-gari, etc.
Act	Second
Play category	Fourth, fifth
Shite school	All
Features	Hair parted in the middle straggling down the sides;  pointed horns; leering mouth with golden eyes and teeth; pointed canines; protruding lower jaw; human ears.
Wig	Kazura or Kashira

Notes: The name of this type of mask derives from ‘Hannya-bо̄’, a monk-artist who is said to have perfected the mask. Hannya is a Buddhist word signifying ‘wisdom’. The Hannya mask is only used to portray female characters. The upper half expresses the character’s state of distress, while the lower half displays uncontrolled, animal-like anger. In the case of the plays Aoinoue or Dо̄jо̄ji, the mask expresses the resentment of a woman that has been abandoned by her lover. Though less subtle than young women masks, Hannya is capable of producing a range of emotions. The expression is frightening when the actor lowers the mask, pointing the horns at the waki who tries to exorcize the demon. However, when raising the mask, it produces an expression of great distress, almost a desperate call for help. Different types of Hannya masks––white or red all over and white above, red below–may be used for different roles.

Shin-ja 真蛇

Roles	Aggressive female spirit.
Plays	Aoinoue, Kurozuka, Dо̄jо̄ji, etc.
Act	Second
Play category	Fourth, fifth
Shite school	All
Features	Similar to Hannya, though though more extreme; short horns; no ears; bulging, round golden eyes; wide protruding jaw; gaping mouth, with golden fangs and visible tongue; no mouth opening.
Wig	Kashira

Notes: The name of this type of mask means ‘true serpent’. Used as an alternative to Hannya. In plays such as Dōjōji or Momiji-gari, it indeed represents a serpent-like figure. Its shorter horns, round eyes and protruding jaw produce an otherworldly expression, suggestive of a monstrous snake. Unlike Hannya, it is used only in combination with the large kashira wig.

Deigan 泥眼

Roles	Female spirit, ghost, or dragon goddess.
Plays	Aoinoue, Teika, Sesshōseki, Ama, Kanawa, Kinuta, Kasuga-ryūjin (tsure) etc.
Act	First or second
Play category	Fourth, fifth
Shite school	All
Features	Wide forehead; thin eyebrows; small golden eyes; wide nose; tense upper lip; exposing upper golden teeth.
Wig	Kazura or kuro-tare

Notes: The name of this type of mask refers to the gold pigment (金泥 or ‘gold mud’) used to paint the eyes. The bone structure of this type of mask is not as angular as that of other spirit masks. Her wide forehead, down-gazing golden eyes, and thinner lips produce a supernatural expression, though it is more difficult to associate it to a specific character. In fact, Deigan is used to portray a variety of female spirits, including Rokujо̄-no-Miyasudokorо̄’s vengeful spirit (Aoinoue), Princess Shokushi’s ghost (Teika), the ghost of a woman who died of loneliness (Kinuta) a dragon goddess (Ama), a woman distraught by jealousy (Kanawa), and the fox-spirit Tamamo-no-mae (Sesshо̄seki).

Ryō-no-onna 霊女

Roles	Female spirit or supernatural being.
Plays	Same as Deigan; also Motomezuka.
Act	First or second
Play category	Fourth, fifth
Shite school	All
Features	Thin arched eyebrows; sharp bone structure over the eyes line; thin nose; mouth corners pointing down; golden eyes and teeth
Wig	Kazura or kuro-tare

Notes: The name of this type of mask means ‘spirit woman’. This type of mask is often used as an alternative to Deigan. 

Hashi-hime 橋姫

Roles	Resentful woman or dragon goddess.
Plays	Kanawa, Ama.
Act	Second
Play category	Fourth, fifth
Shite school	All
Features	The forehead is white; while the lower part of the mask is red; disheveled hair; deep furrows between the eyes; golden eye inserts and teeth painted gold; upper and (sometimes) lower teeth are visible.
Wig	Kazura

Notes: The name of this type of mask derives from the legend of Hashihime, the Bridge Princess, a woman transformed into a demon by jealousy. The mask is used mostly in Kanawa, where a woman puts on vermillion makeup and a crown of candles to take revenge on her husband.

Namanari 生成

Roles	Woman turning into a demon.
Plays	Kanawa
Act	Second
Play category	Fourth
Shite school	All
Features	Short horns; elongated eyes with wide pupils; half-closed eyes; white forehead shading to red cheeks and jaw.
Wig	Kazura

Notes: The name of this type of mask means ‘becoming alive’. Used for the role of the wife in the second act of Kanawa. As an alternative to Hashi-hime, it represents the half-animal, half-human face of the wife transfigured by jealousy and hatred toward her unfaithful husband. The forehead, devoid of furrows makes a striking contrast with the gaping mouth with exposed fangs.

Ayakashi 怪士

Roles	Malicious male spirit.
Plays	Funa Benkei, Nue, Shari, Takasago, etc.
Act	Any
Play category	First, fourth.
Shite school	All
Features	Red or brown complexion; pointed eyebrows and mustache; golden eyes and enlarged eyeholes provide an eerie look.
Wig	Kashira

Notes: The name of this type of mask means ‘mysterious man’. This type of mask is used mostly for the role of malicious spirits, such as the ghost of Taira no Tomomori bent on taking revenge for his death Funa Benkei. However, it can also be used for powerful deities such as the God of Sumiyoshi in Takasago.

Hatachi-amari 廿余

Roles	Ghost of a man.
Plays	Akogi, Utō, Fujitō etc.
Act	Any
Play category	Fourth, fifth.
Shite school	All
Features	Disheveled hair; natural eyebrows; sunken eyes, looking down; boney but with fleshy mouth and only upper teeth. No gold.
Wig	Kashira

Notes: The name of this type of mask means ‘almost twenty’. It represents the ghost of a young man. Created for the role of the deceived fisher boy in Fujito, it is also used as alternative to Yase-otoko (emaciated man) in plays such as Akogi and Utō. 

Contributor: Diego Pellecchia