Namahage Sedo Festival: Wild Dancing to Stir Away The Demons

Ranked as one of the top 5 snow festivals in Japan, the Namahage Sedo Festival is one of the most characteristic winter festivals in Oga, and is a combination of the Saito (Bonfire) Festival, a Shinto ritual held at the Shinzan Shrine in Oga, and the Namahage tradition, in which men wear ogre masks and straw capes to portray a demon. First held in 1963, the Namahage Sedo Festival is celebrated annually on the second Friday in February and continues for 3 days. The wild, powerful dance performed by bonfire in Shinzan Shrine stirs the souls of spectators.

April 30, 2016