Tag Archives: Halloween
Japanese Demons and Team Fortress 2
In response to the previous post, my son sent me some images from a character he has in Team Fortress 2, who can acquire the Noh Mercy mask, based on a Japanese demon.
A note on the Team Fortress 2 official wiki http://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Noh_Mercy points out:
“The Noh Mercy appears to have been styled after the Hannya mask, often used to represent a jealous female, that becomes a demon in Japanese Noh plays.” — which happens to be a major plot point in the Onmyoji movie I like so much, though I’d say it’s more than mere jealousy that turns the the woman into a demon haunting the emperor.
The Noh Mercy mask is for the Spy character in Team Fortress 2, described, haiku-style as:
“Chain smoking Frenchman
Skulks in the shadows, then attacks
Terrifying mask”
Japanese Demons and Kabuki Spooky
The prevalence of such beliefs within the medieval Japanese culture allowed for the growth in Edo province of “Aragato,” the style of Kabuki theater which produced the famous makeup for its samurai hero and for the ghosts and demons he would battle. The origin of Kabuki and other Japanese theater in shamanic ritual and spirit worship is evident in the hero’s ability to do the impossible because they have allowed themselves to be possessed by a powerful kami (“supernatural deity”) and thus have become hitokami (“man-gods”).
Related articles
- The Eye of the Demon — a StoryFaces Performance to learn about the stage presentation I do based on the legends of the samurai and the demons that they fight
- Why Body Painting? – 2: Ultimate Collaboration – MODELS, Pt.2: Just how much a model can help, Amber and Kuniyoshi at FABAIC 2011 (thestorybehindthefaces.com)
- Japanese Demons and Team Fortress 2 (thestorybehindthefaces.com)
- From a mask to a painted face: https://thestorybehindthefaces.com/?s=from+a+mask+to+a+painted+face
- Kumadori – Japanese Kabuki Theatre Makeup (thestorybehindthefaces.com)
- Watanabe No Tsuna and the Ibaraki Demon in Japanese Art (thestorybehindthefaces.com)
- Oshiguma ― Kumadori ― Japanese Kabuki Theatre Makeup Prints ― “Leaving an Impression” (thestorybehindthefaces.com)
- Storytelling in Japanese Art – Onmyoji and Raiko: Super Heroes Team-Up (thestorybehindthefaces.com)
- The Legendary Watanabe no Tsuna Battles the Ibaraki Demon at Rashomon Bridge (thestorybehindthefaces.com)