◀ Back to the Yokaipedia PIXEL YOKAI

No.08

Namahage

THE VISITING DEITY

Namahage
Pixel artArt by @yokaipixel
Japanese name
なまはげ（NAMAHAGE）
Type
Visiting deity (raihoshin)
Found in
Oga Peninsula, Akita — on New Year's Eve
Where the legend lives
  • Akita — A New Year's Eve tradition of the Oga Peninsula

◆ The legend

On New Year's Eve on the Oga Peninsula in Akita, masked figures with terrifying faces come knocking from house to house: "Any crybabies here? Any lazybones?" The children scream and cry, while the head of the household politely welcomes them with sake and food. These are the namahage.

They look like demons, but they're actually gods who bring good fortune at the turn of the year. Their name comes from "namomi-hagi" — peeling off the namomi, the heat rashes you get from lazing by the hearth. In other words, they come to peel away the proof that you've been idle. In 2018 they were inscribed on UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage as one of the "Raiho-shin, ritual visits of deities in masks and costumes" — gods the whole world recognizes.

◆ Stories about this yokai

Namahage Are Not Demons — The Idea of the Visiting DeityWith horns and fearsome masks, the namahage of Oga in Akita look exactly like demons, yet households greet them with sake and food, not thrown beans. A gentle look at who they really are, through the idea of the "visiting deity.