Oga Namahage

On the evening of 31 December, young men of villages on the Oga peninsula put on straw capes and carved wooden masks with bulging eyes and tusks, take up wooden blades, and go from house to house. They shout, stamp, and ask whether there are any lazy children or idle wives; the householder receives them formally, offers sake and food, and vouches for the family. Children are frightened and this is the point - the namahage are not demons but visiting deities who come once a year to warn against sloth and to bless the house. The name derives from the blisters raised by sitting too close to the fire all winter. It is registered by UNESCO as intangible heritage within the group of Japanese visiting-deity rituals. The Namahage Museum at Shinzan shows over a hundred masks from different villages, and an adjoining hall stages the house visit for visitors year-round.

What to look for

• The New Year visit - masked figures entering houses on 31 December to warn against sloth.
• Village-specific masks - over a hundred different carved forms in the museum.
• A visiting deity, not a demon - the ritual is a blessing as well as a fright.
• A year-round demonstration - the house visit staged in a hall at Shinzan.

When to go

31 December for the real ritual; mid-February for the Sedo festival. Half a day.

Things to know

The genuine ritual happens inside private houses and is not open to visitors - what you can see is the staged version or the February festival. Oga winters are severe and transport is limited. The museum demonstration is a performance and reads as one.

Nearby

The Oga peninsula coast road circles west; Akita city is south-east.