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Namahage New Year's Rite

Journeys in Japan

Season 4Episode 4Aired 2013-02-05
Namahage New Year's Rite

Namahage New Year's Rite

On this "Journeys in Japan" our reporter Deborah Ten experiences the rings in the New Year in northern Japan. She visits Oga Peninsula, in Akita Prefecture, to see an unusual New Year's Eve rite. During the folk ritual, known as namahage, demon-like incarnations of the mountain gods go from home to home in the Oga area.