Note

Han’nya represents the woman who is so obsessed by insane envy and grudge that she becomes the demon, considered as the supernatural being, but in which the human sentiment remains yet. Han’nya is the mask which represents such state of the woman, human-demon, who appears in the famous Noh stories “Aoinoue”, “Dōjōji” and “Adachigahara”. The golden eyes and teeth indicate that Han’nya is a supernatural being. But in the same time Han’nya’s face expresses deep sadness of the character who has suffered from envy and grudge.


Shime Waki (和 知 七五 三) (1934-2012, born in Ibaraki, Japan), Photographer,
As a photographer of art was very attracted by the Noh masks. After he began to produce the Noh mask as a hobby rather than for the theater in Yokohama, Japan, and showed his works at various national and international exhibitions.