Spirits Visit to Bring Fortune: Folk Practices Across Japan

Spirits Visit at Year-End

In Japan, people have long believed that protective kami spirits are present everywhere, in nature, homes, shrines and so forth. Some spirits come to visit at the change of seasons. For example, they may be invited to emerge from the spirit world by the kadomatsu, a traditional decoration set up outside of homes or businesses during the New Year.

While all kami are invisible, many inhabit humans in order to visit the physical world. Among them are the raihōshin, the “spirits who come to visit.” Here we introduce traditional rituals from three parts of the country with kami appearing in distinctive masks and costumes.

Oga no Namahage

(December 31, Oga, Akita Prefecture)

A demon mask with fangs; mask designs vary from district to district. (© Haga Library)

On the night of December 31, demons called namahage are on the prowl in Akita Prefecture’s Oga peninsula. Entering homes in the neighborhood, they make a fearsome noise as they stamp their feet on the floorboards and swing large knives around. They growl “naku ko wa ine gā? (Any crybabies in this house?), chasing children crying in terror and snatching them up in their arms.

A local resident, recalling a visit from the namahage when he was a young boy, said “It was so scary. I could hear them growling in the distance, getting closer and closer. When they entered my house, I was simply petrified. They ‘knew’ about my misdeeds, asking ‘Have you been studying hard?’ and ‘Did you apologize to your mother for breaking that favorite plate of hers?’” In his early teens, he finally caught on to the fact that the namahage were in fact neighborhood youths whom his parents had briefed beforehand about his behavior. And when he got to high school age, it was his turn to assume the role of namahage and terrify his young neighbors.

Namahage wear straw capes called kede, made from rice straw from that year’s harvest. Any straw that has fallen in the house during their visit is considered a good luck charm. (© Haga Library)

The “knives” brandished by the namahage are actually a tool called namomi, used for attending to heat blisters. Such blisters were caused by spending too much time close to the irori sunken hearth or under the kotatsu heated low table, synonymous with idleness. The word namahage derives from namomihagi, to peel away heat blisters.

At homes visited by the namahage, the head of the household serves a formal meal and assures them that “all my children study well, and none of them is a crybaby.” Going from home to home, the namahage complete their rounds by the first cockcrow of the new year.

The namahage are served food and drink to bring happiness to the household. (© Haga Library)

But for various reasons, more and more households decline a visit from the namahage, and this familiar year-end ritual is in danger of dying out. Some newer homes have no tatami room in which to entertain the namahage, homeowners worry about soiling when the ogres come stomping in without removing their footwear, or parents feel it is not good to unduly frighten their children. Some people may even object to a visit because they dislike having their viewing of NHK’s New Year’s Eve singing program interrupted. These days, the onus is on the namahage to be more “sociable,” for example confining their howling to the home’s entranceway or singing songs with the children after gently admonishing them. Sad to say, only a handful of families continue to observe the old tradition.

Traditionally, only single men act as namahage. With population aging, some districts face a dearth of eligible young men. (© Haga Library)

Hana Matsuri, Oku Mikawa

(November to January, depending on the area; Tōei, Toyone, and Shitara, Aichi Prefecture)

The moment the kami inhabits a person. Donning the mask imbues the participant with mysterious strength. (© Haga Library)

With few outsiders venturing into isolated mountain hamlets stretching across Aichi, Nagano, and Shizuoka Prefectures, folk entertainment transmitted by practitioners of shugendō, ascetic training incorporating Shintō mountain worship, remains in its classic form. One of these diversions is the Hana Matsuri festival that takes place in 14 areas of the Oku Mikawa region of eastern Aichi Prefecture.

Unrelated to the Buddhist observance of the same name celebrating the birth of Sakyamuni, Aichi Prefecture’s Hana Matsuri festival features kagura sacred song and dance performances characteristic of the region. In the past, it was believed that the human soul grew weaker on the winter solstice and that the breath of the kami would help fortify the inhabitants. Nowadays, the Hana Matsuri takes place in the area’s districts between November and January every year, shifting from the old lunisolar calendar when the winter solstice fell in the eleventh month.

All the kami in the land supposedly gathered in the steam rising from the cauldron. The water’s power gives renewed vitality to those who are sprinkled with it. (© Haga Library)

At the festival, water is boiled in a cauldron set up in the earthen-floored performance space, with everyone dancing around it through the night to the sound of flutes and drums.

At four o’clock in the morning, the music’s tempo slows and plays in a lower key, creating a mystical atmosphere. The sakaki oni ogre, clad in red and carrying a large ax, makes a dramatic appearance, accompanied by several small ogres. The sakaki oni is said to embody the mountain deity and is venerated in the region as “oni-sama.”

The ogre’s huge mask weighs more than five kilograms. This is the one used in Tōei’s Tsuki district; each district’s mask has a different expression. (© Haga Library)

Moving slowly and deliberately, the sakaki oni stamps the ground in front of the cauldron to drive evil spirits from the ground. It flails away, madly swinging its ax around but quietens after failing to correctly answer questions posed by the master of ceremonies. The sakaki oni then makes the rounds of the neighborhood. Driving out evil spirits in households where there is sickness, the oni brings good health and then retreats to the mountain from where it came.

The sakaki oni rids the body of aches and pains by stepping on the affected area. (© Haga Library)

Sonai no Shichi

(A three-day festival that begins on the day of the “wood boar,” around October according to the lunisolar calendar; Taketomi, Iriomotejima, Okinawa Prefecture)

The deity Miriku leads a procession along the beach. (© Haga Library)

Thanks to the warm climate of the subtropical island of Iriomotejima, February is rice planting time, the earliest in the country. Once the rice is harvested, in the tenth month of the old lunisolar calendar, New Year comes for rice farming households. In Sonai, in the northwestern corner of the island, the Shichi festival, which has been celebrated for over five hundred years, takes place to give thanks for the harvest and pray for a bountiful crop again the following year.

On the festival’s second day, the deity Miriku appears from the ocean, bringing happiness to all. Miriku is believed to be a syncretic expression of belief in the bodhisattva Maitreya and in Nirai Kanai, the heaven where, according to indigenous Okinawan belief, the god of the sea resides.

The ceremony at the public hall, where a man dons a masks and “transforms” into Miriku. (© Haga Library)

Miriku descends to the island, embodied by the local resident selected to play the deity’s role. Wearing a yellow garment and a smiling face mask, Miriku heads to the beach, leading a procession of black-veiled women called fudachimi and angā, women clad in bridal costumes. Musicians playing flutes, drums, and sanshin accompany them.

Rocked by the gentle rhythm of Okinawan folk music, Miriku points a fan and moves on to the goza ceremonial stage erected on the beach. Festival participants perform traditional dances and put on stick fighting performances. A hush descends, and to thank the performers, Miriku offers a dance to bring happiness.

Fudachimi and angā follow Miriku in the procession. (© Haga Library)

Meanwhile, two fishing boats race each other across the water. The boats are believed to carry happiness for the new year, and they head back to the beach, beckoned to the goal by the women cheering them on. Folk music and dance performances continue throughout the day until dusk, after which Miriku returns to the public hall. The festival concludes when Miriku’s mask is removed and the person embodying the deity returns to human form.

The race between the boats is the highlight of the festival. (© Haga Library)

(Originally published in Japanese on December 29, 2023. Dates given are those on which the festivals are usually held. Banner photo: The namahage of Oga, Akita Prefecture. © Haga Library.)