Yokai Night Parade 百鬼夜行

秋田県

Yokai of Akita

2 yokai with records here · Tōhoku · View on the map

Records in Akita

Namahage

なまはげ

On New Year's Eve in Oga, Akita, young men in fierce masks and straw capes go from house to house as Namahage — visiting deities who rebuke idleness and bring blessings for the year. Each household receives them with food and sake.

  • House
  • Helpful

Danger 1/5 Editorial rating Danger rating 1 out of 5. This is an editorial rating, not a folklore measurement.

  • undated Oga Peninsula Living rite

    Masked visiting deities on New Year's Eve, received with food and sake

Nurarihyon

滑瓢（ぬらりひょん）

A long-headed old man stepping from a palanquin in the Edo scrolls and Sekien's 1776 print, a floating ball off Okayama, and the supreme-commander title added in the twentieth century.

  • House · Sea · Road
  • Unknown

Danger 1/5 Editorial rating Danger rating 1 out of 5. This is an editorial rating, not a folklore measurement.

  • 1814 Inaniwa, Yuzawa Folklore record

    A slope where nurarihyon, otoroshi and nozuchi were said to pass in night procession, called the monster hill

Records Library: Akita

Places to visit in Akita

  • Namahage Museum and Shinzan Folklore Museum なまはげ館・男鹿真山伝承館 Museum Oga, Akita — The masks of every district of the Oga peninsula in one hall, and next door a farmhouse where the New Year's Eve visit is performed for those who cannot be there on the night.
  • Namahage Sedo Festival なまはげ柴灯まつり Festival Oga, Akita — On a February night the namahage come down the snowy mountain with torches to the fire at Shinzan Shrine.

Places to Visit