With the rapid development of science and technology in today's society, masks have gradually become a tool for entertainment in people's daily lives. Various masks can be seen in theatrical performance props, home wall decorations, etc. Especially in an era when digital media technology is extremely limited, wearing various masks and costumes made of fur, gauze, weed and other materials has become the most effective way for actors to create countless imaginary characters.

In the Japanese classical Noh drama, there is the "yokai mask", a representative mask type. It uses sculpture art to depict concave and convex, twisted monster facial features on various materials, and uses various colors to highlight the mask. Among them, the "Hannya Mask" is the most representative work among monster masks. "Prajna" here is different from the "wisdom" represented in Buddhist scriptures. "Prajna" in Japanese refers to a kind of resentful spirit turned into a woman's jealousy, which originated from Japanese folklore.

According to research, the earliest image of "Prajna" comes from the Japanese floating life painter Toriyama Shiyan's "The Scroll of the Past and the Past: A Hundred Ghosts: Rain". Its image is roughly a distorted facial expression, looking like a smile but not smiling, looking like anger but slightly sarcastic. His eyes are wide open, his mouth is open wildly, and his fangs are exposed. There is a pair of iconic sharp horns on his forehead. The design of the Prajna Mask is roughly the same. There is a story about Hannya in the famous Japanese novel "The Tale of Genji". It is said that Genji's lover Rokujo Gosuki became resentful and jealous because he lost Genji's favor. He inadvertently transformed into a resentful spirit Hannya and killed Genji's wife Aoi. In the novel, Rokujo Goshee, who finally realized his crime, chose to become a monk in order to suppress the monster born of jealousy in his heart.

Due to the unique shape of the mask itself, the Prajna Mask often becomes an important reference for the design of evil villains in many pop culture works. Many of the Shadow Corps masks in the mask chapter of "The Adventures of Jackie Chan" refer to the overall design of the Prajna Mask. , such as the Black Shadow Blade Mask, has many design features of Prajna masks. The "Devil Gang" masks in "Marvel's Spider-Man" also have shadows in the shape of Japanese monster masks.

The first promotional video of "Ghostwire: Tokyo" has impressed countless players. It not only created a punk-style urban appearance of Tokyo, Japan, but also the visual design of the villain wearing a Prajna mask, which is also in line with the deep exploration of this game. The theme of Japanese ghost culture. Players can see a variety of unique ghost designs, such as a faceless man and a "confusing" JK girl.


Interestingly, another plot promotional video for "Ghost Thread: Tokyo" is named "Prajna". According to this film, players will enter this game to face this resentful spirit alone. , where does resentment and jealousy come from? How will players save Tokyo from the powerful evil spirits?

Conclusion

In many horror movies today, masks have become an important horror element. Whether it is "Chainsaw Massacre" or "Scream", it is commonplace to use twisted masking methods to highlight the mystery and cruelty of the murderer. . But just like modern weapons and firearms, it is never the object itself that determines whether they are good or evil, but the people behind them. Masks can become symbols of evil and terror, and naturally they can also become representatives of hope, justice and blessings, just like Rorschach even Wearing a strange ink-stained mask, but when he faced a choice that could not be called justice, he could still say: "Never compromise."