Culture Akita's Namahage face changing times

thomas · 31 Jan 2024

On New Year's Eve, in the town of Oga, Akita, residents are haunted by giant, ogre-like creatures with wide, toothy jaws and bodies covered in straw - the Namahage (生剥げ). They question the children about their behaviour over the past year. To keep the namahage peaceful, the families invite them for a glass of sake. The spirits, said to be the incarnations of mountain gods, perambulate through the neighbourhoods, shouting and banging on the doors of houses to drive bad luck out of the place. Children, in particular, are remonstrated, and the Namahage pray for the well-being of the family, good health and a rich harvest in the coming year.

The famous ritual is a centuries-old tradition in Akita. Nowadays, however, the ogres face unexpected challenges. Fewer and fewer communities are practising the tradition, and the associations are doing their best to keep the memory of the mountain gods alive. Households are happy to receive visits from the Namahage, but there is a shortage of volunteers.

Despite the public attention, practice of the Namahage festival, like many other folk rituals across Japan, is dwindling in many communities due to a lack of young people to carry on the traditions. According to Oga officials, only 68 neighborhood associations said they plan to practice the Namahage festival at the end of 2023, down from the 92 that practiced the rite at the end of 2018. The city government is working to reduce the burdens on communities by subsidizing part of the expenses for renewing and repairing Namahage masks and costumes. However, the festival faces other difficulties. A growing number of households don't want Namahage visits, which has contributed to the decrease in communities where the ritual is practiced. The tradition once died out in the Okura community about a decade ago, but Yoshida and his contemporaries revived it in 2018. "The year-end feels slack without the rite," Yoshida said he thought at the time. "It's so boring without the opportunity for everyone to get together." Each community has its meticulously established set of traditions regarding Namahage masks, costumes and manners.

Namahage ogres roar at New Year’s but face changing times | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

NHK on Demand:

Namahage: Fearsome Guardians of Oga Peninsula - Spiritual Explorers | NHK WORLD-JAPAN

Oga Peninsula in northern Japan is home to mythical, ogre-like deities called Namahage. On New Year's Eve, human personifications of Namahage descend upon villages wearing frightening masks and costumes. The head of each household welcomes them with sake and food, and in return, they stomp and...

www3.nhk.or.jp

Namahage Museum:

Namahage Museum

The Namahage Museum (なまはげ館) is located in Oga, Akita, adjacent to the Oga Shinzan Folklore Museum. It has been designated as an Important National Intangible Folk Cultural Property (国の重要無形民俗文化財) and exhibits historical materials on Namahage, also known...

jref.com

thomas · 2 Feb 2024

A stray namahage on his way to Akita Airport...