Fudoki

Namahage Demons (2012x26)

Air date: Jun 07, 2014

On New Year’s Eve on the Oga peninsula in northern Akita, Namahage demons stomp through the village in forbidding masks and grass capes, entering households to admonish misbehaving children and slothful adults and drive away disaster during the harsh winter months. Some 60 communities still practice the folkloric ritual, each with their own distinctive masks.