Hannya of Regret

The term “Hannya” actually doesn’t refer to a single entity, but a whole type of them. They appear in the noh genre of traditional Japanese theater, with Hannya having a thematic complexity unusual among demons. Specifically, while demons typically have a straightforward evil nature, this isn’t the case for Hannya. As demons, Hannya have a dangerous streak, but they can also express grief and regret.

That said, this also depends on the sub-type of Hannya that a specific demon belongs to. Of the Hannya’s three sub-types, two of them, the namanari and the chunari actually have human origins. This makes them more likely to express grief and regret, as they’re actually the souls of women who suffered wrongful deaths. The injustice done to them, as well as their dying desires for vengeance, cause their spirits to transform into demons. In contrast, the last sub-type of Hannya, the honnari, have truly-demonic natures, and usually lacks any redeeming characteristics at all.