Namahage Sedo Festival
The Namahage Sedo Festival is held on the snow-covered grounds of Shinzan Shrine on the Oga Peninsula in Akita, over three evenings in mid-February built around the second Saturday of the month. It joins two traditions: the shrine's Saito fire rite, said to date from the early twelfth century, and the Namahage, the ogre-masked visiting deities who go house to house in Oga on New Year's Eve to warn idle children and bless the household, and who were inscribed by UNESCO in 2018 as part of Japan's Raiho-shin ritual visitors. Men in straw capes and carved wooden masks come down the dark mountainside carrying torches, roar at the crowd, and dance around a huge bonfire before handing out goma-mochi rice cakes blessed in the flames. There are also taiko performances and a ritual dance by shrine priests. Attendance has been by paid advance ticket in recent editions, numbers are capped, and the site is deep snow in sub-zero cold, so winter boots and layers are essential.
Event information
| When | Usually held in mid February; check the official site for the latest schedule |
|---|---|
| Where | Akita |
| Access | Shinzan Shrine is inland on the Oga Peninsula; the usual approach is JR Oga Station at the end of the Oga Line, from where festival shuttle buses run, or a drive of roughly an hour from Akita city. |
| Schedule status | Check the official site |
| Official information | Open the official site |
Practical tips
- Recent editions have required paid advance tickets with a daily cap, so check the organiser's page before building a trip around this festival.
- Shuttle buses run from JR Oga Station on festival evenings; without them, reaching Shinzan Shrine in deep snow without a car is difficult.
- The ground is packed snow and ice in sub-zero air: insulated waterproof boots, gloves and a hat matter more than a heavy coat alone.
- The Oga Shinzan Folklore Museum and the Namahage Museum next door show the New Year house-visit ritual year-round if you cannot make February.
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