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Original file
About This Work
The woodblock print depicts a Hannya demon crouched in profile, wearing layered robes that drape over her hunched frame. Her face is distorted into a terrifying mask with two sharp horns, bulging eyes, and a wide mouth exposing fangs. A long, swirling vapor issues from her mouth, directed toward an altar table upon which sit small lotus-shaped dishes and a ritual bell (rin). Behind the demon stands an ornate folding screen (byōbu) decorated with floral patterns, grounding the scene in a domestic interior.
This image originates from the 'Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki' (1779), a key text in the yōkai-ga tradition that codified Japanese folklore and ghost stories during the Edo period. The Hannya is a manifestation of intense, jealous resentment often associated with the 'Aoi no Ue' story from the Tale of Genji and classical Noh drama.
Inscriptions(Japanese)
般若 般若とは女の怨霊なり。般若面とて、角ある面の上に六条の御息所の霊の憑きしとて、この経を読誦するときて、あゝ恐ろしや、とぞ。 轉 ひろいもの
Translation
Hannya The Hannya is a female vengeful spirit. It is said that when one recites this sutra (Heart Sutra) over the Hannya mask—a mask with horns which the spirit of Lady Rokujo possessed—one exclaims, 'Ah, how terrifying.' Turning Found thing
Connected Texts
Konjaku Gazu Zoku Hyakki
This print is a primary illustration from the second volume of Toriyama Sekien's compendium of demons and monsters.