Japan aims to add «Namahage» deity visits to UNESCO heritage list
The effort is led by the northeastern Japan city of Oga in Akita Prefecture, which is renowned for the home visits by the so-called Namahage deity. But it failed in an earlier attempt to have the ancient custom registered by the U.N. body because a similar event in southwestern Japan was already on the list.
In Oga, young men wearing fierce-looking masks resembling imaginary demons known as "oni" and straw capes visit each house on New Year's Eve, shouting to check whether there is a disobedient child or lazy person in the family. Wielding wooden knives, they scare children with their loud voices.
They are plied with food and drink and leave the house promising the family will be blessed with good health and fortunes.
Such customs also exist in cities and towns in Iwate, Miyagi, Yamagata, Ishikawa, Saga, Kagoshima and Okinawa prefectures.
Eight municipalities from those seven prefectures and the city of Oga formed a committee in 2014 to seek UNESCO registration of the custom, along with the "Toshidon" event on Shimokoshiki Island in Kagoshima Prefecture which was added to the Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2009.
The Japanese government and the municipalities adopted that campaign method after an U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization panel decided in 2011 not to list the Oga Namahage festival due to its similarity to the Toshidon event.
The committee now hopes Japan will make a bid to UNESCO in 2016.
The tradition, however, faces challenges due to a decline in the number of youths taking part in the events.
In Oga, some areas had to stop the home visits due to a lack of single men who dress as Namahage. In the past year to March 2015, nearly half of the 148 neighborhood blocks did not take part in the festival.
But some blocks have been able to resume the custom by such means as allowing tourists or foreign students to participate.
Change in lifestyles in recent years has also affected the tradition. More people prefer receiving Namahage around the entrance to their homes rather than allowing them inside because they do not want to sweep up straw that has fallen from the deity's costume.
An official of the Oga city government expressed hope that adding the deity visit festivals to the UNESCO list will encourage people to keep the tradition.
"We hope local residents will feel proud of the tradition if it becomes part of UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage and will be motivated to continue it," the official said.