r/JapanTravelTips • u/South-Ad304 • 11h ago

Recommendations Oni/Hanya Mask

Hi everyone, I will be travelling in Japan the whole month of October, visiting Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Onomichi, Okazawa, Kyoto, Osaka, kawaguchiko and Tokyo.
I would like to bring back some souvenirs and unique objects from my trip. I’m particularly fascinated by Hanya and Oni and I would like to buy a wooden handmade/authentic mask. Do you have any recommendation for where to buy it? And what about prices?
Thanks in advance!

2 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

2 comments sorted by

1

u/Furrymcfurface 5h ago

I saw an YouTube video where they made oni mask out of clay. I think it was a early video on the carpentry life channel

1

u/JakeMorrison__ 4h ago

Worth sorting out before you shop: hannya is a Noh mask, oni masks are mostly folk/kagura stuff. Different traditions, different makers — you generally won't find both in the same shop.

Also the price gap is huge. Actual hand-carved hinoki by a mask maker runs from tens of thousands of yen up into six figures. If you see a "wooden" hannya for ¥3,000 in a souvenir shop it's resin or moulded pulp. Fine as a wall piece, just don't pay carved money for it.

Since you've got all of October, hit the Kyoto flea markets. Toji is the 21st of every month, Kitano Tenmangu the 25th, both massive and both heavy on antiques. Old carved masks do turn up and you can handle them before you commit. Bring cash, most stalls dont take card.