なまはげ柴灯まつり · Festival · Oga, Akita
Namahage Sedo Festival
On a February night the namahage come down the snowy mountain with torches to the fire at Shinzan Shrine.
Quick Facts
- Type
- Festival
- Prefecture
- Akita · Oga
- When
- Second Friday to Sunday of February, after dark
- Where
- Shinzan Shrine, Oga
- Nearest station
- Oga Station (JR Oga Line)
- From the station
- Shuttle buses run from the station on festival evenings; by car about 20 minutes
- English signage
- full
- Opening hours and admission
- See the official site (external link) · information checked on 2026-11-03
Hours, admission and closing days change, and this site does not list them. The link goes to the place's own page, with the date we last checked it.
What is there
The festival is held on the grounds of Shinzan Shrine on the second weekend of February. After dark a great fire is lit before the shrine, the namahage of the hamlet are blessed in the hall, and the visit is performed on an outdoor stage with drums and dance. Then torches appear on the mountain path above, and the namahage come down through the snow to the fire, roaring, and walk out among the crowd. Rice cakes toasted at the fire are handed out at the end. The festival has been held since 1964, so that people who cannot be inside an Oga house on New Year’s Eve can see the visitors.Why here
Shinzan Shrine has its own Sedo rite in early January, when rice cakes are offered at a fire to the god of the mountain and carried back by the namahage. The February festival joins that fire rite to the village visit of New Year’s Eve, and the namahage who come down the mountain are the gods of the rite rather than the oni of the pictures.Yokai you will meet
- Namahage — Torches on the mountain path and the namahage walking through the crowd at the fire.
Getting there
Oga Station (JR Oga Line). Shuttle buses run from the station on festival evenings; by car about 20 minutes.
Sources and further reading
- Reliable secondary Namahage Sedo Festival (external link) Oga City Tourism Association (Oga Navi) Official festival page: programme, dates and the booking rules.
- Reliable secondary Namahage Sedo Festival (English) (external link) Oga City Tourism Association (Oga Navi) English version of the festival page.
- Database Namahage (なまはげ) (external link) Wikipedia (Japanese) The rite, its UNESCO inscription of 2018, and the section on the Sedo festival held at Shinzan Shrine since 1964.
Other places with these yokai
- Namahage Museum and Shinzan Folklore Museum なまはげ館・男鹿真山伝承館 Museum
Other places in Akita
- Namahage Museum and Shinzan Folklore Museum なまはげ館・男鹿真山伝承館 Museum