Who is Hannya?
Hannya is the name of the fearsome face above. She, for it is a female character, comes from the Noh play tradition of Japan. There are many stories in which Hannya plays a part. In one, she was once a beautiful woman who fell in love with a priest. In a jealous rage she became a supernatural horned beast and if you see costumes in exhibitions or books she will have a wild white-haired wig. We have adopted Hannya because it is believed that because she is so frightening, she scares off all the other nasty demons, such as your enemies, and thus she is on your side. She is a sort of reverse good luck charm.
