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NamahageWhen you hear the name Oga, the first thing that comes to mind is "." Every year on New Year's Eve, people resembling demons, wearing terrifying masks and straw costumes, visit houses shouting, "Arethere any lazy people here? Are there any crying children?" They carry kitchen knives and buckets in their hands.
Namahage are gods who pray for villagers to keep themselves busy in the winter, and for good health and bountiful harvests in the new year
At first glance, the Namahage may seem frightening, but in reality, they are said to be gods who admonish lazy people who spend all their time warming themselves by the kotatsu or irori during the winter off-season for farming, and who pray for good health and a bountiful harvest.The origin of the word "Namahage" issaid to be "namomihagi," which literally means "peeling off one's flesh." However, it actually refers to peeling off the brown bruises called "namomi" that result from low-temperature burns caused by being exposed to fire for too long.
The commonly known Namahage mask has an ogre-like appearance and shape. They speak loudly and carry a kitchen knife, so they are nothing but a scary sight for children, but to the local community they are visiting deities who give warnings and blessings. When Namahage visits a home, food and sake are prepared and they are treated with courtesy
So, what was the origin of Namahage?
There are several theories about the origin of Namahage. The theory that it was caused by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty is one of them
Emperor Wu, the seventh emperor of the ancient Chinese Han dynasty (around the end of the Yayoi period in Japan), crossed the Sea of Japan with five bats and arrived in Oga in search of a medicinal herb that would grant immortality. The bats transformed into demons and served Emperor Wu, and it is said that these demons are the origin of the Namahage
about the origin of Namahage,they were ascetic monks who trained in the mountains of Ogathe theory thatthey were mountain gods who lived there since ancient times, but none of them have been proven.
Namahage, drawn by Edo period travel writer Sugae Masumi
Namahage is a traditional event that has been held in each village in the Oga region for a long time, but it is not known when it began. The earliest record of Namahage appears to be a written account with illustrations by travel writer Sugae Masumi, who was traveling through Oga on January 15, 1811 during the Edo period
The text accompanying the illustration describes the Namahage event at the time. Young men wearing masks with demonic expressions and masks with pursed lips like a hyōdō mask visit houses in the village on the night of the 15th of the New Year (now it is New Year's Eve, but at the time it was a Little New Year event on January 15th). Children hide when they hear that Namahage have arrived, just like today. It is not known whether they called out loudly, "Are there any crying children?"
located within the grounds of Mayama ShrineNamahage Museumdisplays over 150 different Namahage masks from approximately 60 districts, including some actually used in the New Year's Eve Namahage ritual. Visitors will be amazed by the richness of their expressions.
Adjacent to the Namahage MuseumOga Shinzan Folklore Museum, where you can experience a reenactment of the Namahage ritual throughout the year. Also, every year on the second Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of February, the NamahageSedo Festival, a tourist event that combinesSedo Festival, is held on the grounds of Shinzan Shrine.
Under the snow and the lanterns burning in the shrine grounds, the solemn rituals held at Shinzan Shrine are truly mystical. In contrast, the Namahage's wild movements are powerful and impressive. The heroic sound of the drums reverberates throughout your body
"Oga no Namahage" is a nationally designated Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property and is alsoVisiting Deities: Masked and Disguised Godslisted on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage as one of the
Information
Facility name: Shinzan Shrine / Oga Shinzan Folklore Museum / Namahage Museum
Address: 97 Mizukuisawa, Kitaurayama, Oga City, Akita Prefecture
Public transportation: Approximately 40 minutes by Oga Peninsula Ainori Taxi "Namahage Shuttle" from Oga Station on the JR Oga Line
By car: Approximately 40 minutes from Showa Oga Peninsula IC on the Akita Expressway
Facility name: Oga Shinzan Folklore Museum」
Admission fee: Adults 770 yen, elementary, junior high and high school students 550 yen. Combined ticket for both museums: Adults 1100 yen, elementary and junior high school students 660 yen
April to November / 9:00 to 16:30 (approximately 20 minutes)
December to March: 9:30 to 15:30 (January 1st and 2nd: 9:00 to 15:00)
Closed: Open daily
Facility name: "Namahage Museum"
Admission fee: Adults 660 yen, elementary, junior high and high school students 330 yen, combined ticket for both museums: Adults 1100 yen, elementary, junior high and high school students 660 yen
Opening hours: 8:30-17:00
Closed: Open daily
Event name: "Namahage Sedo Festival"
Dates: Second Friday, Saturday and Sunday in February
Location: Shinzan Shrine grounds
Google Map
Oga's folk tale, the legend of the 999 stone steps
The five demons serving Emperor Wu were given a day off on the 15th of the New Year. On that day, they descended into the villages, plundering crops and livestock, and committing other evil deeds, including assaulting village girls
The troubled villagers came up with a plan. They made a bet: "Build 1,000 stone steps from the village to the middle of the mountain before the first rooster crows. If you can do it, we will offer you one daughter each year. If you can't, never come down to the village again." The ogres, thinking it would be easy, happily began stacking the stones. They reached 999 steps before dawn, but then the mischievous ogre, who the villagers had asked to imitate a rooster's crow, started crowing, "Cock-a-doodle-doo!" The ogres mistook this for dawn, thought they had lost the bet, and never came down to the village again.
One theory is that when the demons realized they had been tricked and feared they would take revenge, the villagers began to worship them as gods, and this is the origin of Namahage
Akagami Shrine Goshado, a national important cultural property with the legend of its 999 stone steps
The 999 stone steps, said to have been built by demons,Monzenare located in the village ofAkagami Shrine, located at the foot of Mount Motoyama along the Oga Shiokaze Highway (Prefectural Road 59). The steps are uneven and irregular, giving the impression that they were handmade, and they continue for 999 steps.
Climbing the stone steps reveals the Goshado, a complex of five shrines lined up in a row.The current buildings were constructed in 1709 during the Edo period by Satake Yoshisada, the lord of the Kubota domain, and are designated as a National Important Cultural Property, representing a very valuable example of Edo-period temple architecture.
The five shrines of "Goshado" are, from left to right, [Juzenshido],Hachiojido],the[Akagami Gongendo], [MaroudoGongendo], and [shrineszushi (a box for storing important things such as Buddhist statues and memorial tablets) inside the [Akagami Gongendo] is said to be a work from the Muromachi period and is a nationally important cultural property.
Akagami Shrine, one of the three mountains that stand side by side:Shinzan(567m),Honzan(715m),and Kenashiyamais located on the mountainside (elevation 180m) of KenashiyamaNisshakuji. In the mountains of Oga during the Heian period, Shugendo, a form of mountain asceticism, was practiced, and Nisshakuji was a central temple for it. From the Heian period to the Edo period, it was a time of syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism, where Shinto deities were enshrined within temples. However, in the Meiji era, the coexistence of temples and shrines was prohibited (the Shinto-Buddhist separation policy), so Nisshakuji was abolished and subsequently became known as Akagami Shrine. However, the main hall is the "Goshado" (Five Shrine Hall) that was built during the temple era, so even though it's called a shrine, it has a temple hall and houses Buddhist statues.
believed to be from the Heian period,a standing statue of the Bodhisattvaof Kannon (Akita Prefecture designated cultural property)standing statue of the Bodhisattva of Eleven Faces(Akita Prefecture designated cultural property) created by the Buddhist sculptor Enku in the early Edo period.
At the height of Shugendo's popularity, under the patronage of the Kubota domain, it is said that there were nine temples, centered around Nisshaku-ji Temple, and 48 lodgings for ascetics. However, after the Meiji Restoration, due to the separation of Shinto and Buddhism and the Haibutsu Kishaku (a policy to abolish Buddhism), most of the temples were abandoned, and all that remains are Akagami Shrine Goshado, which changed its name from Nisshaku-ji Temple, and Choraku-ji Temple
Information
Facility name: Akagami Shrine Goshado and 999 stone steps
Address: 35 Harakawa, front of the main temple gate, Funakawa Port, Oga City, Akita Prefecture (Akagami Shrine)
Phone number: 0185-24-9220 (Oga City Tourism, Culture and Sports Department, Tourism Division)
My love of travel led me to work for a travel magazine some time ago, and now I work as a travel writer for an online publication. I have visited all 47 prefectures in Japan, focusing on the Tohoku region, and I enjoy soaking in hot springs and experiencing traditional Japanese culture, including old townscapes, lifestyles, and performing arts and crafts
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