なまはげ / NHK「みちしる」

Namahage

Namahage refers to a raiho-shin (visiting deity), and a traditional folk event from the Oga Peninsula in Akita Prefecture. Men wearing demon masks march from house to house.

Namahage is believed to have derived from the word namomihagi. Tradition states that lazy people often get red marks or blisters (namomi) because they spend so much time sitting idle around an open hot hearth. The word namomihagi refers to the punishment of lazy people by ‘peeling off’ their nanomi.

You can witness the famous folk event, Namahage, in the Oga Peninsula of Akita Prefecture. On the night of New Year’s Eve, men wearing demon masks and wielding wooden knives go from house to house, roaring and yelling, “Are there any kids crying here?” or “Are there any bad kids here?”. The Namahage are considered to be messengers of the gods who warn and chastise the lazy, while expelling evil spirits.

In 2018, this traditional event was registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, known as ‘Raiho-shin, Ritual Visits of Deities in Masks and Costumes’.

Related People, Things and Events

On the night of New Year’s Eve, men wearing demon-like masks march from house to house wielding wooden knives.
Hyakkiyako refers to a number of yokai walking in a procession at night. It was believed that seeing them would cause death.
Originally a folk tradition of Akita Prefecture’s Oga Peninsula practiced as part of Koshogatsu (“Little New Year”) festivities later in the year, the custom is now held on New Year’s Eve.
Shiwasu is the lunar calendar name for December. The term continued to be used after the introduction of the solar calendar during the Meiji era and is still used today.

Books

秋田叢書刊行会
江戸時代後期の旅行家である菅江真澄(すがえますみ)による遊覧記。文化8（1811）正月15日に訪れた男鹿のナモミホギ（ナマハゲ）について詳細な絵と解説文を記している。
柳田国男編,民間伝承の会
柳田国男(1875～1962)の著書。民俗学的観点からナマハゲの風習を取り上げている。
秋田県庁林務課編,秋田山林会
男鹿半島のナマハゲについて紹介されている。昭和14年(1939)刊行。
鉄道省編,鉄道省
なまはげは、秋田県の男鹿半島で見られる民俗行事が有名。
高橋文太郎著,金星堂
小正月行事としてのなまはげに関する考察。各地に類似のものがあることにも触れている。