namanari　生成

KEY WORD :　art history / sculptures

Lit. Becoming bestial. A noh mask *noumen 能面 used for the wife taking revenge on her unfaithful husband in the second half of KANAWA 鉄輪. The mask appears to be caught between human and bestial aspects. The broad gaping mouth exposing fangs and gold-painted teeth, the feline eyes with metallic gold inserts, and the small juts for horns feel uncomfortable within the dimensions of a human face. Straggly hair parted in the middle runs down both cheeks. In conception, namanari, as the name implies, lies half way between the human and beast. The next step is a *hannya 般若 mask, and the final form is the serpent *ja 蛇. The Tokugawa 徳川 Art Museum, Aichi prefecture, owns a version with menacing eyes. Used for the same role as *hashihime 橋姫, namanari presents a more bestial and abstract version of the tormented woman bent on sexual revenge.

REFERENCES:

*onryoumen 怨霊面

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