# Yamanba — Plays character guide

> Yamanba in Plays by Zeami Motokiyo.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Yamanba The Mountain She-Devil, Yamauba, Hyakma Yamauba

**First appearance:** 0024-yamanba

## Snapshot

A mountain she-devil who steps out of her own ballad to confront the famous singer who made her name, demanding a mass for her restless soul.

## Who they are

Yamanba lives amid the verdant hills as the real spirit behind the capital's beloved song, and she resents the renowned singer whose fame bloomed from that very tune while never pitying her. She asks not for revenge but for dancing and music to release her from the pains of transmigration, promising to reveal her ghastly true form under the moon. Her challenge to repent or delight in anything sets the play's central question: what can a spirit learn from nature itself?

## Relationships

### [Servant](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plays_2_se/characters/servant)

_professional_

The Servant is in the employ of Yamanba, carrying out tasks and enduring her demands.

### [Old Woman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plays_2_se/characters/old_woman)

_rivalry_

The Old Woman and Yamanba are in a tense, competitive dynamic, each vying for control or recognition.

## In the story

### [Act II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plays_2_se/chapters/act-ii)

The mountain she-devil appears, revealing her terrifying form and philosophical nature. She discusses the equivalence of good and bad, the delusion of human life, and her own restless wandering spirit.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plays_2_se/characters/yamanba
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plays_2_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plays_2_se/characters