Namahage: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
emoji added, source: https://emojipedia.org/japanese-ogre/
Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit
→‎Legend: added info
 
(47 intermediate revisions by 28 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{short description|Japanese folklore character associated with new year's ritual}}
⚫
[[File:Straw namahage.2.jpg|thumb|Namahage costumes]]
⚫
[[File:Namahage.jpg|thumb|A dancing drummer wearing a Namahage costume, performed Namahage-Daiko in [[Akita Station]].]]
⚫
{{nihongo|'''Namahage'''|生剥}}<ref>{{Harvnb|Yamamoto|1978}}, ''The Namahage'', p.9, 35</ref> (emoji: 👹) in traditional [[Japanese folklore]] is a demonlike being, portrayed by men wearing hefty [[oni]] (ogre) masks and traditional straw capes (''[[mino (straw cape)|mino]]'') during a New Year's ritual<ref name=bocking>{{Harvnb|Bocking|1998}}, ''Shinto Dict.'', p.98</ref> of the [[Oga Peninsula]]<ref name=heibonsha>{{Harvnb|Heibonsha|1969}}, vol. 17, p.46, article on Namahage by Makita, Shigeru (牧田茂)</ref> area of [[Akita Prefecture]] in northern [[Honshū]], Japan.<ref>{{Harvnb|Yamamoto|1978}}, ''The Namahage'', p.13, passim.</ref>


⚫
[[File:Namahage.jpg|thumb|300px|A dancing drummer wearing a Namahage costume, performed Namahage-Daiko in [[Akita Station]].]]
⚫
The frightfully dressed men, armed with [[Deba knife|deba knives]] (albeit wooden fakes<ref name=heibonsha/> or made of [[papier-mâché]]) and toting a {{Nihongo3|"hand pail" made of wood|手桶|teoke}},<ref name=bocking/> march in pairs or threes going door-to-door making rounds of people's homes, admonishing children who may be guilty of laziness or bad behavior,<ref name=bocking/> yelling phrases like {{Nihongo|"Are there any crybabies around?"|泣く子はいねがぁ|Nakuko wa inee gā?}}<ref name=shincho>{{cite journal|ref=harv|author=|title=秋田県男鹿市の民俗行事「なまはげ」の由来|journal=Shūkan Shinchō|volume=41|number=1|year=1996|format=snippet|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h9rlAAAAIAAJ}}, p.40 "「ウォー、泣く子いねがあ」; "鬼どもに一夜のうちに村から五社堂まで一千段の石段を築くこと、という条件を出す。石段が完成する直前に、村人が一番鶏の.."</ref> or {{Nihongo|"Are naughty kids around?"|悪い子はいねえか|Waruiko wa inee ka?}} in the pronunciation and accent of the local dialect.
⚫
The {{nihongo|'''Namahage'''|生剥げ, なまはげ}}<ref>{{harvp|Yamamoto|1978}}, ''The Namahage'', pp. 9, 35</ref> are demonlike beings portrayed by men wearing hefty ''[[oni]]'' (ogre) masks and traditional straw capes (''[[mino (straw cape)|mino]]'') during a New Year's ritual, in local northern [[Japanese folklore]] of the [[Oga Peninsula]] area of [[Akita Prefecture]].


==General description==<!--including dress-->
==Older tradition==
⚫
[[File:Straw namahage.2.jpg|thumb|300px|Namahage costumes]]
⚫
The practice has shifted over the years.
⚫
The frightfully dressed men impersonating the ''oni''-demons wearing masks, dressed in long straw coats or ''[[mino (straw cape)|mino]]'', locally called ''kede'' or ''kende''.{{sfnp|Foster|2013|p=305}} They are armed with [[Deba knife|deba knives]] (albeit wooden fakes<ref name=heibonsha/> or made of [[papier-mâché]]) and toting a {{Nihongo3|"hand pail" made of wood|手桶|teoke}},<ref name=bocking/> march in pairs or threes going door-to-door making rounds of people's homes, admonishing children who may be guilty of laziness or bad behavior,<ref name=bocking/> yelling phrases like {{Nihongo|"Are there any crybabies around?"|泣く子はいねがぁ|Nakuko wa inee gā?}}<ref name=shincho/> or {{Nihongo|"Are naughty kids around?"|悪い子はいねえか|Waruiko wa inee ka?}} in the pronunciation and accent of the local dialect.


Traditionally, the namahage have worn painted wooden masks,{{sfnp|Foster|2013|p=302}} sometimes made of wood bark, and primarily painted red.{{sfnp|Ine|1985|p=36}} But in recent years they have been manufactured using bamboo strainers as frames, cardboard material, or flattened metal canisters, etc.,{{sfnp|Ine|1985|p=42}} and the namahage may travel in pairs, one red-faced, the other blue-faced, in the hamlet of Yumoto (incorporated into the [[Oga, Akita|city of Oga]]), for example.{{sfnp|Foster|2013|p=302}}
⚫
===Season===
⚫
The namahage visits nowadays take place on New Year's Eve<ref name=shogakkan>{{cite book|title=日本大百科全書|volume=1|publisher=Shogakkan|year=1984|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WlAEAAAAYAAJ|isbn=9784095260013}}, under "Akita", p.177</ref> (using the Western calendar). But it used to be practiced on the so-called {{Nihongo|"Little New Year"|[[:ja:小正月|小正月]]|[[Koshōgatsu]]}},<ref name=heibonsha/> the first full moon night of the year. This is the 15th day of the first lunar calendrical year, which is not the same thing as January 15;<ref>Though January 15 is stated by {{Harvnb|Greene|2005}}, p.57, and a number of other sources without proper explanation</ref> it usually falls around mid-February, exactly two weeks after the [[Chinese New Year]] ({{lang-ja|Kyūshogatsu|script=Latn}}).


The straw attire are often described as a ''mino'' (standard Japanese),{{efn|Or ''kera'' in northeastern dialect.}} but these are considered particular items of clothing known locally as ''kede'' (or ''kende''; ''kedashi'').{{sfnp|Ine|1985|p=45}}{{sfnp|Foster|2013|p=305}}
⚫
===Etymology===
⚫
The namahage's purpose was to admonish laggards who sit around the fire idly doing nothing useful.<ref name=heibonsha/><ref name=demente>{{cite book|ref=harv|last=De Mente|first=Boye|title=Everything Japanese|publisher=Passport Books|year=1989|format=snippet|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z5BwAAAAMAAJ}}, p.80.</ref> One of the refrains used by the namahage in the olden days was {{Nihongo|"Blisters peeled yet?"|なもみコ剝げたかよ|namomi ko hagetaka yo}}.<ref name=heibonsha/> ''Namomi'' signifies heat blisters, or more precisely {{Nihongo|''hidako''|火だこ|hidako}} ([[Erythema ab igne]] or EAI), a rashlike condition caused by overexposure to fire, from sitting by the dugout [[irori]] hearth. Thus "fire rash peeling" is generally believed to be the derivation of the name ''namahage''.<ref name=demente/>


⚫
==Etymology==
⚫
Some of the namahage's other spoken lines of old were {{Nihongo|"Knife whetted yet?"|包丁コとげたかよ|hōchōko togetaka yo}}<ref name=heibonsha/> and {{Nihongo|"Boiled adzuki beans done yet?"|小豆コ煮えたかよ|azuki ko nietaka yo}}.<ref name=heibonsha/> The knife apparently signified the instrument to peel the blisters,<ref>{{Harvnb|Akita Prefecture|2003}} (website)</ref> and it was customary to have azuki gruel on the "Little New Year".<ref>{{cite journal|ref=harv|last=Hasegawa|first=Kai (長谷川櫂)|title=Time in Saijiki|journal=Japan Review|volume=14|year=2002|format=pdf|url=http://shikon.nichibun.ac.jp/dspace/handle/123456789/1454|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://archive.is/20120721152826/http://shikon.nichibun.ac.jp/dspace/handle/123456789/1454|archivedate=2012-07-21}}, p.168 ([google snippet https://books.google.com/books?id=9Pg-AQAAIAAJ])</ref>
⚫
The namahage's purpose was to admonish laggards, who sit around the fire idly and do nothing useful.<ref name=heibonsha/><ref name=demente>{{cite book|last=De Mente |first=Boye |author-link=Boye De Mente |title=Everything Japanese |publisher=Passport Books |year=1989 |isbn=9780844285139 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z5BwAAAAMAAJ}}, p. 80.</ref> One of the refrains used by the namahage in the olden days was {{Nihongo|"Blisters peeled yet?"|なもみコ剝げたかよ|namomi ko hagetaka yo}}.<ref name=heibonsha/> ''Namomi'' signifies heat blisters, or more precisely {{Nihongo|''hidako''|火だこ|hidako}}{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|The Japanese name is misleading since it is called a type of ''tako'' ([[callus]]).}} (''[[Erythema ab igne]]'' or EAI),{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|Foster identifies as ''[[cutis marmorata]]''{{sfnp|Foster|2013|p=304}}}} which in Japanese is {{nihongo||大理石様皮斑|dairisekiyō hihan}}, but ''hidako'' is glossed as {{nihongo||温熱性紅斑|onnetsusei kōhan}} in medical literature, which corresponds to ''Erythema ab igne''. Folklorist literature such as Ine mention ''hidako'', but not the precise medical term for it. A rashlike condition caused by overexposure to fire, from sitting by the dugout [[irori]] hearth. Thus "fire rash peeling" is generally believed to be the derivation of the name ''namahage''.<ref name=demente/>{{sfnp|Foster|2013|p=304}}{{sfnp|Ine|1985|pp=28, 93}}


==Tradition==
Although the ''namahage'' are nowadays conceived of as a type of ''[[Oni (folklore)|oni]]'' or ogre, it was originally a custom where youngsters impersonated the [[kami]] who made visitations during the New Year's season.<ref name=heibonsha/> Thus it is a kind of [[toshigami]].
Although the ''namahage'' are nowadays conceived of as a type of ''[[Oni (folklore)|oni]]'' or ogre, it was originally a custom where youngsters impersonated the [[kami]] who made visitations during the New Year's season.<ref name=heibonsha/> Thus it is a kind of ''[[toshigami]]''.


⚫
The practice has shifted over the years.
The ''namahage'' would typically receive [[mochi]] from the households they visited,<ref name=heibonsha/> but newlywed couples were supposed to play host to them in full formal attire and offer them [[sake]] and food.<ref name=heibonsha/>

According to 20th century descriptions, the ''namahage'' would typically receive [[mochi]] (rice cakes) from the households they visited,<ref name=heibonsha/> but newlywed couples were supposed to play host to them in full formal attire and offer them [[sake]] and food.<ref name=heibonsha/> The ''namahage'' still receive hospitality in likewise manner during the New Years, but in a reversal of roles, the namahage distribute ''mochi'' to visitors (tourists) during the {{nihongo|Namahage sedo matsuri|なまはげ柴灯まつり|Namahage Sedo Festival}} held in February.{{sfnp|Foster|2013|pp=317–318}}

⚫
===Season===
⚫
This is a New Year's ritual,<ref name=bocking/> and the namahage visits nowadays take place on New Year's Eve<ref name=shogakkan>{{citation|title=Akita |script-work=ja:日本大百科全書 |work=Nihon daihyakka zensho |volume=1 |publisher=Shogakkan |year=1984 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WlAEAAAAYAAJ |page=177 |isbn=978-4-095-26001-3}}</ref> (using the Western calendar). But it used to be practiced on the so-called {{Nihongo|"Little New Year"|[[:ja:小正月|小正月]]|[[Koshōgatsu]]}},<ref name=heibonsha/> the first full moon night of the year. This is the 15th day of the first lunar calendrical year, which is not the same thing as January 15;<ref>Though January 15 is stated by {{harvp|Greene|2005}}, p. 57, and a number of other sources without proper explanation</ref> it usually falls around mid-February, exactly two weeks after the [[Chinese New Year]] ({{lang-ja|Kyūshogatsu|script=Latn}}).

The aforementioned Namahage Sedo Festival, which was not established until 1964, is held annually on the second weekend of February{{sfnp|Foster|2013|p=316}} (roughly coinciding with the "Little New Year"), at the {{illm|Shinzan Jinja|ja|真山神社|lt=Shinzan Shrine}}.{{sfnp|Foster|2013|p=316}}{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|Initially held at {{nihongo|Hoshitsuji Shrine|星辻神社}}.{{sfnp|Ine|1985|p=15}}}}

===Dialogue or phraseology===
⚫
Some of the namahage's other spoken lines of old were {{Nihongo|"Knife whetted yet?"|包丁コとげたかよ|hōchōko togetaka yo}}<ref name=heibonsha/> and {{Nihongo|"Boiled adzuki beans done yet?"|小豆コ煮えたかよ|azuki ko nietaka yo}}.<ref name=heibonsha/> The knife apparently signified the instrument to peel the blisters,<ref>{{harvp|Akita Prefecture|2003}} (website)</ref> and it was customary to have azuki gruel on the "Little New Year".<ref>{{cite journal|last=Hasegawa |first=Kai |author-link=:ja:長谷川櫂 |title=Time in Saijiki |journal=Japan Review |volume=14 |year=2002 |issue=14 |url=https://nichibun.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=repository_action_common_download&item_id=275&item_no=1&attribute_id=18&file_no=1 |page=168 |jstor=25791260}}</ref>


==Legend==
==Legend==
<!--{{References|date=May 2012}}-->
<!--{{References|date=May 2012}}-->
The legend of Namahage varies from region to region. There are four theories or legends about the origin of Namahage on the [[Oga Peninsula]] in [[Akita Prefecture]].<ref name="oga270124">{{cite web|url=https://www.namahage-oga.akita.jp/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127085840/https://www.namahage-oga.akita.jp/|script-title=ja:男鹿のナマハゲ|language=ja|publisher=[[Oga, Akita|Oga City]]|date=|archive-date=27 January 2024|access-date=16 May 2024}}</ref><ref name="knm160524">{{cite web|url=https://www.khb-tv.co.jp/seichi/10811662|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240516104806/https://www.khb-tv.co.jp/seichi/10811662|script-title=ja:東北の聖地を訪ねて|language=ja|publisher=[[Higashinippon Broadcasting]]|date=|archive-date=16 May 2024|access-date=16 May 2024}}</ref>
The legend of the Namahage varies according to an area. An Akita legend has developed regarding the origins of namahage, that [[Emperor Wu of Han]] (d. 87 BC) from China came to Japan bringing five demonic ''[[oni]]'' to the Oga area, and the ''oni'' established quarters in the two local high peaks, {{Nihongo|Honzan|本山}} and {{Nihongo|Shinzan|真山}}. These ''oni'' stole crops and young women from Oga's villages.<ref name=shogakkan/><ref name=akitaken>{{Harvnb|Akita Prefecture|2003}}, Namahage wepbpage</ref>


The first theory is the Namahage creation, inspired by the appearance of {{nihongo3|[[Shugendō]] practionner|山伏|[[yamabushi]]}} who prayed in the houses of villages after their rigorous ascetic training in the mountains such as {{Nihongo|Honzan|本山}} and {{Nihongo|Shinzan|真山}}.<ref name="oga270124"/><ref name="knm160524"/>
⚫
The citizens of Oga wagered the demons that if they could build a flight of stone steps, one thousand steps in all, from the village to the five shrine halls<ref name=shincho/> (variant: from the sea shore to the top of Mt. Shinzan<ref name=akitaken/>) all in one night, then the villagers will supply them with a young woman every year.<ref name=akitaken/> But if they failed the task they would have to leave. Just as the ogres were about to complete the work, a villager mimicked the cry of a rooster, and the ogres departed, believing they had failed.<ref name=shincho/><ref name=akitaken/>

The second theory is the Namahage creation, inspired by the image of the messenger of the mountain ''kami''. In this theory, the Oga Peninsula looks like a mountain from the sea and is revered as the place where the mountain ''kami'' resides to protect the lives of the villagers.<ref name="oga270124"/><ref name="knm160524"/>

The third theory is the Namahage creation, inspired by the appearance of a foreigner who had washed ashore. In this theory, the people of Oga regarded the foreigner, who had a strange appearance and spoke a language they had never heard before, as an ''[[oni]]''.<ref name="oga270124"/><ref name="knm160524"/>

The fourth theory is the Namahage creation, inspired by the legend of [[Emperor Wu of Han]].
⚫
According to this theory, the Namahage was inspired by the appearance of five bats that followed Emperor Wu to Oga peninshla and turned into ''oni''. The ''oni'' established quarters in the two local high peaks, {{Nihongo|Honzan|本山}} and {{Nihongo|Shinzan|真山}}. These ''oni'' stole crops and young women from Oga's villages.<ref name=shogakkan/><ref name=akitaken>{{harvp|Akita Prefecture|2003}}, Namahage wepbpage</ref> The citizens of Oga wagered the demons that if they could build a flight of stone steps, one thousand steps in all, from the village to the five shrine halls<ref name=shincho/> (variant: from the sea shore to the top of Mt. Shinzan<ref name=akitaken/>) all in one night, then the villagers would supply them with a young woman every year.<ref name=akitaken/> But if they failed the task they would have to leave. Just as the ogres were about to complete the work, a villager mimicked the cry of a rooster, and the ogres departed, believing they had failed.<ref name=shincho/><ref name=akitaken/>


==Interpretations==
==Interpretations==
An obvious purpose of the festival is to encourage young children to obey their parents and to behave, important qualities in Japan's heavily structured society. Parents know who the Namahage actors are each year and might request them to teach specific lessons to their children during their visit.<ref>{{cite book|last=Yamamoto|first=Yoshiko|title=The Namahage: a festival in the northeast of Japan|year=1978|publisher=Institute for the Study of Human Issues, Inc.|location=Philadelphia|isbn=978-0-915980-66-6|pages=113}}</ref> The Namahage repeat the lessons to the children before leaving the house.<ref>{{cite book|last=Yamamoto|first=Yoshiko|title=The Namahage: a festival in the northeast of Japan|year=1978|publisher=Institute for the Study of Human Issues, Inc.|location=Philadelphia|isbn=978-0-915980-66-6|pages=114}}</ref>
An obvious purpose of the festival is to encourage young children to obey their parents and to behave. Parents know who the Namahage actors are each year and might request them to teach specific lessons to their children during their visit.{{sfnp|Yamamoto|1978|p=113}} The Namahage repeat the lessons to the children before leaving the house.{{sfnp|Yamamoto|1978|p=114}}


Some ethnologists and folklorists suggest it relates to a belief in deities (or spirits) coming from abroad to take away misfortune and bring blessings for the new year,<ref>{{cite web|title=The Namahage Festival|url=http://www.namahage.co.jp/namahagekan/english/namahage.php|accessdate=19 August 2012}}</ref> while others believe it is an agricultural custom where the kami from the sacred mountains visit.
Some ethnologists and folklorists suggest it relates to a belief in deities (or spirits) coming from abroad to take away misfortune and bring blessings for the new year,<ref>{{cite web|title=The Namahage Festival|url=http://www.namahage.co.jp/namahagekan/english/namahage.php|access-date=19 August 2012}}</ref> while others believe it to be an agricultural custom where the kami from the sacred mountains visit.


<gallery>
<gallery>
Line 37: Line 54:


==Similar ogre traditions==
==Similar ogre traditions==
The tradition where the ogres are called ''namahage'' occurs in the [[Oga Peninsula]] area of [[Akita Prefecture]].<ref name=heibonsha/><ref>{{harvp|Yamamoto|1978}}, ''The Namahage'', p. 13 and passim.</ref>{{sfnp|Foster|2013|p=302}}
Similar traditions in other regions are called:

Although the namahage of Oga has become the foremost recognized, cognate traditions occur in other regions throughout Japan,<ref>{{harvp|Foster|2013|pp=302–303}} citing {{harvp|Nakamura|1952}}, Seki (1960), {{harvp|Ine|2005|pp=101–62}}</ref> ''{{linktext|viz.}}'':
* '''Yamahage''' in the former [[Yūwa, Akita]], now part of [[Akita, Akita]].
* '''Yamahage''' in the former [[Yūwa, Akita]], now part of [[Akita, Akita]].
* {{Nihongo|{{Interlanguage link multi|Nagomehagi|ja|3=ナゴメハギ|vertical-align=sup}}|ナゴメハギ}} of [[Noshiro, Akita]].
* {{Nihongo|{{Interlanguage link multi|Nagomehagi|ja|3=ナゴメハギ|vertical-align=sup}}|ナゴメハギ}} of [[Noshiro, Akita]].
Line 45: Line 64:
* {{Nihongo|{{Interlanguage link multi|Suneka|ja|3=吉浜のスネカ|vertical-align=sup}}|スネカ}}, '''Anmo''', '''Nagomi''' or '''Nagomihakuri''' in northern [[Iwate prefecture]].
* {{Nihongo|{{Interlanguage link multi|Suneka|ja|3=吉浜のスネカ|vertical-align=sup}}|スネカ}}, '''Anmo''', '''Nagomi''' or '''Nagomihakuri''' in northern [[Iwate prefecture]].
* {{Nihongo|{{Interlanguage link multi|Amaburakosagi|ja|3=あまぶらこさぎ|vertical-align=sup}}|あまぶらこさぎ}} in [[Ehime Prefecture]] ([[Shikoku]])
* {{Nihongo|{{Interlanguage link multi|Amaburakosagi|ja|3=あまぶらこさぎ|vertical-align=sup}}|あまぶらこさぎ}} in [[Ehime Prefecture]] ([[Shikoku]])
*{{Interlanguage link multi|Toshidon|ja|3=トシドン|vertical-align=sup}}, parallel practice in [[Koshikijima Islands]], [[Kagoshima prefecture]]<ref>{{cite book|ref=harv|last=Bocking|first=Brian|author2=|title=A Popular Dictionary of Shintō|publisher=Psychology Press|year=1997|format=previewpreview|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y0TIfrZuq_YC&pg=PA98|isbn= 9780700710515}}, p.98 under ''marebito'' notes the parallel</ref>
*{{Interlanguage link multi|Toshidon|ja|3=トシドン|vertical-align=sup}}, parallel practice in [[Koshikijima Islands]], [[Kagoshima prefecture]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Bocking |first=Brian |author-link=<!--Brian Bocking--> |title=A Popular Dictionary of Shintō|publisher=Psychology Press|year=1997 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y0TIfrZuq_YC&pg=PA98|isbn= 9780700710515}}, p.98 under ''marebito'' notes the parallel</ref>
*{{Interlanguage link multi|Akamata-Kuromata|ja|3=アカマタ・クロマタ|vertical-align=sup}}, a parallel but secretive practice of the [[Yaeyama Islands]], [[Okinawa]]<ref>{{cite book|ref=harv|last=Plutschow|first=Herbert E.|author2=|title=Chaos and Cosmos: Ritual in Early and Medieval Japanese Literature|publisher=Brill|year=1990|format=preview|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pwfUl-sHReYC&pg=PA60|isbn= 9789004086289}}, p.60 notes the parallel, but mistakenly says the islands are controlled by Kagoshima</ref>
*{{Interlanguage link multi|Akamata-Kuromata|ja|3=アカマタ・クロマタ|vertical-align=sup}}, a parallel but secretive practice of the [[Yaeyama Islands]], [[Okinawa]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Plutschow|first=Herbert E.|title=Chaos and Cosmos: Ritual in Early and Medieval Japanese Literature|publisher=Brill|year=1990|format=preview|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pwfUl-sHReYC&pg=PA60|isbn= 9789004086289}}, p.60 notes the parallel, but mistakenly says the islands are controlled by Kagoshima.</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
*[[Straw bear]]
*[[Latvian masked processions]]
*[[List of Important Intangible Folk Cultural Properties]]
*[[List of Important Intangible Folk Cultural Properties]]
*[[List of legendary creatures from Japan]]
*[[List of legendary creatures from Japan]]
*[[Japanese mythology in popular culture]]
*[[Zwarte Piet|Black Peter]], a similar being who plays a similar role for Christmas celebrations in the [[Netherlands]].
*[[Zwarte Piet|Black Peter]], a similar being who plays a similar role for Christmas celebrations in the [[Netherlands]].
⚫
*{{Interlanguage link multi|Kasedori|ja|3=カセ鳥|vertical-align=sup}}, where men dress in taper-headed straw costume, in [[Kaminoyama, Yamagata]]

⚫
*{{Interlanguage link multi|Kasedori|ja|3=カセ鳥|vertical-align=sup}}, where men dress taper-headed straw costume [[Kaminoyama, Yamagata]]
*[[Krampus]], a demonic creature, believed to accompany [[Saint Nicholas]] to punish children in some European countries during [[Christmas]].
*[[Krampus]], a demonic creature, believed to accompany [[Saint Nicholas]] to punish children in some European countries during [[Christmas]].
*[[Ogoh-ogoh]] – demons of Bali who are celebrated on their new year.
*[[Ogoh-ogoh]] – demons of Bali who are celebrated on their new year.
*[[Setsubun]] or ''mamemaki'', practice of casting roasted soy beans to ward ogres or ghouls.
*[[Setsubun]] or ''mamemaki'', practice of casting roasted soy beans to ward ogres or ghouls.
*{{Interlanguage link multi|tsuina|ja|3=追儺|vertical-align=sup}}, a more ancient form of ghoul-warding passed down from China.
*{{Interlanguage link multi|Tsuina|ja|3=追儺|vertical-align=sup}}, a more ancient form of ghoul-warding passed down from China.
*[[Askeladden]] - Norwegian folklore character who abides by the fireplace
*[[Kurentovanje]] - Slovenian folklore carnival

==Explanatory notes==
{{notelist}}


==References==
==References==
;Citations
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist|30em|refs=
⚫
<ref name=bocking>{{cite book|last=Bocking |first=Brian |author-link=B<!--rian Bocking--> |title=A Popular Dictionary of Shintō |publisher=Psychology Press |year=1997 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y0TIfrZuq_YC&pg=PA98 |page=98|isbn=978-0-700-71051-5}}</ref>

<ref name=heibonsha>{{cite book|last=Makita |first=Shigeru |author-link=:ja:牧田茂 |chapter=Namahage |title=Sekai hyakka jiten |script-title=ja:世界百科事典 |volume=17 |orig-year=1968 |year=1969 |page=46 |lang=ja}}</ref>

<ref name=shincho>{{cite journal|author=Anon. |title=Akita-ken Oga-shi no minzoku gyōji namahage no yurai |script-title=ja:秋田県男鹿市の民俗行事「なまはげ」の由来 |journal=[[Shukan Shincho (magazine)|Shūkan Shinchō]] |volume=41 |number=1 |year=1996 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h9rlAAAAIAAJ |page=40 |quote=<!--鬼どもに一夜のうちに村から五社堂まで一千段の石段を築くこと、という条件を出す。石段が完成する直前に、村人が一番鶏の.. -->}}.</ref>

}}

;Bibliography
{{Refbegin}}
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite journal|last=Foster |first=Michael Dylan |author-link=Michael Dylan Foster |title=Inviting the Uninvited Guest: Ritual, Festival, Tourism, and the Namahage of Japan |journal=The Journal of American Folklore |volume=126 |number=501 |date=Summer 2013 |pages=302–334 |doi=10.5406/jamerfolk.126.501.0302 |jstor=10.5406/jamerfolk.126.501.0302|s2cid=143644459 }}
;(dictionaries and encyclopedias)

*{{cite book|ref=harv|author=Heibonsha|title=世界百科事典(Sekai hyakka jiten)|origyear=1968|year=1969}}(world encyclopedia, in Japanese).
⚫
*{{cite book|last=Greene |first=Meg |author-link=<!--Meg Greene--> |editor-last=Bharati |editor-first=Agrhananda |editor-link=<!--Agrhananda Bharati--> |title=Japan: A Primary Source Cultural Guide |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group |year=2005 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mvhArG29mAgC&pg=PT58 |page=57 |isbn= 9781404229129}}<!--This source and many other sources give the date of "January 15", without properly commenting that this is the lunar calendar date used in old times (closer to mid-February, two-weeks after Chinese New Years, as explained above).-->
⚫
*{{cite book|ref=harv|last=Bocking|first=Brian|author2=|title=A Popular Dictionary of Shintō|publisher=Psychology Press|year=1997|format=previewpreview|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y0TIfrZuq_YC&pg=PA98|isbn= 9780700710515}}, p.&nbsp;98

⚫
*{{cite book|ref=harv|last=Greene|first=Meg|author2=Agrhananda Bharati (ed.)|title=Japan: A Primary Source Cultural Guide|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|year=2005|format=preview|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mvhArG29mAgC&pg=PT58|isbn= 9781404229129}}, p.&nbsp;57. This source and many other sources give the date of "January 15", without properly commenting that this is the lunar calendar date used in old times (closer to mid-February, two-weeks after Chinese New Years, as explained above).
*{{cite book|last=Ine |first=Yūji |author-link=<!--稲雄次--> |title=Namahage |script-title=ja:ナマハゲ |place= |publisher=Akita bunka shuppansha<!--秋田文化出版社--> |year=1985 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k8tJAAAAMAAJ |isbn=<!--n/a JP number:86009290-->}}
;(monograms and folklore studies)
*{{cite book|last=Ine |first=Yūji |author-link=<!--稲雄次--> |author-mask=2 |title=Namahage shinpan |script-title=ja:ナマハゲ新版 |edition=revised |place= |publisher=Akita bunka shuppansha<!--秋田文化出版社--> |year=2005 |url= |isbn=9784870224841}}
⚫
*{{cite book|ref=harv|last=Yamamoto|first=Yoshiko|author2=Institute for the Study of Human Issues|title=The Namahage: a festival in the northeast of Japan|place=Philadelphia|publisher=Institute for the Study of Human Issues|year=1978|format=snippet|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zMqBAAAAMAAJ|isbn= 9780915980666}}

⚫
*{{cite journal| first=Nelly |last=Naumann |authorlink=Nelly Naumann |title='Yama no Kami': die japanische Berggottheit (Teil I: Grundvorstellungen) |journal=Asian Folklore Studies |year=1963 |language=German }}
*{{cite journal|last=Nakamura |first=Takao |author-link=<!--中村たかを--> |title=Namahage oboegaki (Nihon rettō ni okeru saishiteki himitsu kessha ni tsuite) |trans-title=Notes on namahage (Possible remnants of primitive secret societies on the Japanese archipelago) |script-title=ja:ナマハゲ覚書―日本列島における祭祀的秘密結社について― |journal=The Japanese Journal of Ethnology/Minzokugaku Kenkyū<!--民族学研究--> |volume=16 |number=3–4 |year=1952 |pages=311–320}}
⚫
<!--*{{cite journal|last=Naumann |first=Nelly |authorlink=Nelly Naumann |title='Yama no Kami': die japanische Berggottheit (Teil I: Grundvorstellungen) |journal=Asian Folklore Studies |year=1963 |url=https://dl.ndl.go.jp/view/download/digidepo_10208388_po_568.pdf?contentNo=1&alternativeNo= |language=de}}-->

⚫
*{{cite book|last=Yamamoto |first=Yoshiko |others=Institute for the Study of Human Issues |title=The Namahage: a festival in the northeast of Japan|place=Philadelphia |publisher=Institute for the Study of Human Issues |year=1978 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zMqBAAAAMAAJ |isbn= 978-0-915-98066-6}}
{{Refend}}
{{Refend}}
*{{cite journal|last=Nakamura|first=Takao (中村たかお)|title=Notes on namahage (Possible remnants of primi- tive secret societies on the Japanese archipelago)(ナマハゲ覚書)|journal=Minzokugaku Kenkyu (民族学研究)|year=1951|volume=XV}}


==External links==
==External links==
*{{cite web|ref=harv|author=Akita Prefecture|title=男鹿のなまはげ|website=美しき水の郷あきた|publisher=Akita Prefecture|year=2003|format=preview|url=http://www.pref.akita.jp/fpd/bunka/namahage.htm|accessdate=June 19, 2019}}
*{{cite web|author=Akita Prefecture|title=男鹿のなまはげ|website=美しき水の郷あきた|publisher=Akita Prefecture|year=2003|format=preview|url=http://www.pref.akita.jp/fpd/bunka/namahage.htm|access-date=June 19, 2019|archive-date=February 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210222150622/http://www.pref.akita.jp/fpd/bunka/namahage.htm|url-status=dead}}


{{Japanese folklore long}}
{{Japanese folklore long}}


[[Category:Japanese culture]]
[[Category:Culture of Japan]]
[[Category:Japanese folk art]]
[[Category:Japanese folk art]]
[[Category:Japanese folklore]]
[[Category:Japanese folklore]]
[[Category:Oga, Akita]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Akita Prefecture]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Akita Prefecture]]
[[Category:Yōkai]]
[[Category:Yōkai]]
[[Category:Oni]]
[[Category:Oni]]
[[Category:Winter traditions]]

Latest revision as of 10:52, 16 May 2024

A dancing drummer wearing a Namahage costume, performed Namahage-Daiko in Akita Station.

The Namahage (生剥げ, なまはげ)[1] are demonlike beings portrayed by men wearing hefty oni (ogre) masks and traditional straw capes (mino) during a New Year's ritual, in local northern Japanese folklore of the Oga Peninsula area of Akita Prefecture.

General description[edit]

Namahage costumes

The frightfully dressed men impersonating the oni-demons wearing masks, dressed in long straw coats or mino, locally called kede or kende.[2] They are armed with deba knives (albeit wooden fakes[3] or made of papier-mâché) and toting a teoke (手桶, "hand pail" made of wood),[4] march in pairs or threes going door-to-door making rounds of people's homes, admonishing children who may be guilty of laziness or bad behavior,[4] yelling phrases like "Are there any crybabies around?" (泣く子はいねがぁ, Nakuko wa inee gā?)[5] or "Are naughty kids around?" (悪い子はいねえか, Waruiko wa inee ka?) in the pronunciation and accent of the local dialect.

Traditionally, the namahage have worn painted wooden masks,[6] sometimes made of wood bark, and primarily painted red.[7] But in recent years they have been manufactured using bamboo strainers as frames, cardboard material, or flattened metal canisters, etc.,[8] and the namahage may travel in pairs, one red-faced, the other blue-faced, in the hamlet of Yumoto (incorporated into the city of Oga), for example.[6]

The straw attire are often described as a mino (standard Japanese),[a] but these are considered particular items of clothing known locally as kede (or kende; kedashi).[9][2]

Etymology[edit]

The namahage's purpose was to admonish laggards, who sit around the fire idly and do nothing useful.[3][10] One of the refrains used by the namahage in the olden days was "Blisters peeled yet?" (なもみコ剝げたかよ, namomi ko hagetaka yo).[3] Namomi signifies heat blisters, or more precisely hidako (火だこ, hidako)[b] (Erythema ab igne or EAI),[c] which in Japanese is dairisekiyō hihan (大理石様皮斑), but hidako is glossed as onnetsusei kōhan (温熱性紅斑) in medical literature, which corresponds to Erythema ab igne. Folklorist literature such as Ine mention hidako, but not the precise medical term for it. A rashlike condition caused by overexposure to fire, from sitting by the dugout irori hearth. Thus "fire rash peeling" is generally believed to be the derivation of the name namahage.[10][11][12]

Tradition[edit]

Although the namahage are nowadays conceived of as a type of oni or ogre, it was originally a custom where youngsters impersonated the kami who made visitations during the New Year's season.[3] Thus it is a kind of toshigami.

The practice has shifted over the years.

According to 20th century descriptions, the namahage would typically receive mochi (rice cakes) from the households they visited,[3] but newlywed couples were supposed to play host to them in full formal attire and offer them sake and food.[3] The namahage still receive hospitality in likewise manner during the New Years, but in a reversal of roles, the namahage distribute mochi to visitors (tourists) during the Namahage sedo matsuri (なまはげ柴灯まつり, Namahage Sedo Festival) held in February.[13]

Season[edit]

This is a New Year's ritual,[4] and the namahage visits nowadays take place on New Year's Eve[14] (using the Western calendar). But it used to be practiced on the so-called "Little New Year" (小正月, Koshōgatsu),[3] the first full moon night of the year. This is the 15th day of the first lunar calendrical year, which is not the same thing as January 15;[15] it usually falls around mid-February, exactly two weeks after the Chinese New Year (Japanese: Kyūshogatsu).

The aforementioned Namahage Sedo Festival, which was not established until 1964, is held annually on the second weekend of February[16] (roughly coinciding with the "Little New Year"), at the Shinzan Shrine [ja].[16][d]

Dialogue or phraseology[edit]

Some of the namahage's other spoken lines of old were "Knife whetted yet?" (包丁コとげたかよ, hōchōko togetaka yo)[3] and "Boiled adzuki beans done yet?" (小豆コ煮えたかよ, azuki ko nietaka yo).[3] The knife apparently signified the instrument to peel the blisters,[18] and it was customary to have azuki gruel on the "Little New Year".[19]

Legend[edit]

The legend of Namahage varies from region to region. There are four theories or legends about the origin of Namahage on the Oga Peninsula in Akita Prefecture.[20][21]

The first theory is the Namahage creation, inspired by the appearance of yamabushi (山伏, Shugendō practionner) who prayed in the houses of villages after their rigorous ascetic training in the mountains such as Honzan (本山) and Shinzan (真山).[20][21]

The second theory is the Namahage creation, inspired by the image of the messenger of the mountain kami. In this theory, the Oga Peninsula looks like a mountain from the sea and is revered as the place where the mountain kami resides to protect the lives of the villagers.[20][21]

The third theory is the Namahage creation, inspired by the appearance of a foreigner who had washed ashore. In this theory, the people of Oga regarded the foreigner, who had a strange appearance and spoke a language they had never heard before, as an oni.[20][21]

The fourth theory is the Namahage creation, inspired by the legend of Emperor Wu of Han. According to this theory, the Namahage was inspired by the appearance of five bats that followed Emperor Wu to Oga peninshla and turned into oni. The oni established quarters in the two local high peaks, Honzan (本山) and Shinzan (真山). These oni stole crops and young women from Oga's villages.[14][22] The citizens of Oga wagered the demons that if they could build a flight of stone steps, one thousand steps in all, from the village to the five shrine halls[5] (variant: from the sea shore to the top of Mt. Shinzan[22]) all in one night, then the villagers would supply them with a young woman every year.[22] But if they failed the task they would have to leave. Just as the ogres were about to complete the work, a villager mimicked the cry of a rooster, and the ogres departed, believing they had failed.[5][22]

Interpretations[edit]

An obvious purpose of the festival is to encourage young children to obey their parents and to behave. Parents know who the Namahage actors are each year and might request them to teach specific lessons to their children during their visit.[23] The Namahage repeat the lessons to the children before leaving the house.[24]

Some ethnologists and folklorists suggest it relates to a belief in deities (or spirits) coming from abroad to take away misfortune and bring blessings for the new year,[25] while others believe it to be an agricultural custom where the kami from the sacred mountains visit.

  • Namahage-kan or Namahage Museum, Oga, Akita
    Namahage-kan or Namahage Museum, Oga, Akita
  • Namahage Museum
    Namahage Museum

Similar ogre traditions[edit]

The tradition where the ogres are called namahage occurs in the Oga Peninsula area of Akita Prefecture.[3][26][6]

Although the namahage of Oga has become the foremost recognized, cognate traditions occur in other regions throughout Japan,[27] viz.:

See also[edit]

Explanatory notes[edit]

  1. ^ Or kera in northeastern dialect.
  2. ^ The Japanese name is misleading since it is called a type of tako (callus).
  3. ^ Foster identifies as cutis marmorata[11]
  4. ^ Initially held at Hoshitsuji Shrine (星辻神社).[17]

References[edit]

Citations
  1. ^ Yamamoto (1978), The Namahage, pp. 9, 35
  2. ^ a b Foster (2013), p. 305.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Makita, Shigeru [in Japanese] (1969) [1968]. "Namahage". Sekai hyakka jiten 世界百科事典 (in Japanese). Vol. 17. p. 46.
  4. ^ a b c Bocking, Brian (1997). A Popular Dictionary of Shintō. Psychology Press. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-700-71051-5.
  5. ^ a b c Anon. (1996). "Akita-ken Oga-shi no minzoku gyōji namahage no yurai" 秋田県男鹿市の民俗行事「なまはげ」の由来. Shūkan Shinchō. 41 (1): 40..
  6. ^ a b c Foster (2013), p. 302.
  7. ^ Ine (1985), p. 36.
  8. ^ Ine (1985), p. 42.
  9. ^ Ine (1985), p. 45.
  10. ^ a b De Mente, Boye (1989). Everything Japanese. Passport Books. ISBN 9780844285139., p. 80.
  11. ^ a b Foster (2013), p. 304.
  12. ^ Ine (1985), pp. 28, 93.
  13. ^ Foster (2013), pp. 317–318.
  14. ^ a b "Akita", Nihon daihyakka zensho 日本大百科全書, vol. 1, Shogakkan, p. 177, 1984, ISBN 978-4-095-26001-3
  15. ^ Though January 15 is stated by Greene (2005), p. 57, and a number of other sources without proper explanation
  16. ^ a b Foster (2013), p. 316.
  17. ^ Ine (1985), p. 15.
  18. ^ Akita Prefecture (2003) (website)
  19. ^ Hasegawa, Kai [in Japanese] (2002). "Time in Saijiki". Japan Review. 14 (14): 168. JSTOR 25791260.
  20. ^ a b c d 男鹿のナマハゲ (in Japanese). Oga City. Archived from the original on 27 January 2024. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  21. ^ a b c d 東北の聖地を訪ねて (in Japanese). Higashinippon Broadcasting. Archived from the original on 16 May 2024. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  22. ^ a b c d Akita Prefecture (2003), Namahage wepbpage
  23. ^ Yamamoto (1978), p. 113.
  24. ^ Yamamoto (1978), p. 114.
  25. ^ "The Namahage Festival". Retrieved 19 August 2012.
  26. ^ Yamamoto (1978), The Namahage, p. 13 and passim.
  27. ^ Foster (2013), pp. 302–303 citing Nakamura (1952), Seki (1960), Ine (2005), pp. 101–62
  28. ^ Bocking, Brian (1997). A Popular Dictionary of Shintō. Psychology Press. ISBN 9780700710515., p.98 under marebito notes the parallel
  29. ^ Plutschow, Herbert E. (1990). Chaos and Cosmos: Ritual in Early and Medieval Japanese Literature (preview). Brill. ISBN 9789004086289., p.60 notes the parallel, but mistakenly says the islands are controlled by Kagoshima.
Bibliography
  • Nakamura, Takao (1952). "Namahage oboegaki (Nihon rettō ni okeru saishiteki himitsu kessha ni tsuite)" ナマハゲ覚書―日本列島における祭祀的秘密結社について― [Notes on namahage (Possible remnants of primitive secret societies on the Japanese archipelago)]. The Japanese Journal of Ethnology/Minzokugaku Kenkyū. 16 (3–4): 311–320.

External links[edit]

  • Akita Prefecture (2003). "男鹿のなまはげ". 美しき水の郷あきた. Akita Prefecture. Archived from the original (preview) on February 22, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Namahage&oldid=1224119326"