Namahage Sedo Festival

Namahage Sedo Festival is one of the Michinoku five snow festivals. It is held at Shinzan shrine of Kitaura in Oga City in Akita Prefecture. This festival, which is a symbol of the winter in Oga, allows tourists to discover real namahage, which represent demonlike beings from the Japanese folklore. The festival is held for three days on the second Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of February every year. This event is a combination of the Shinto Sedo festival ritual and the traditional Namahage event. In front of the Sedo fire burning on the grounds of Shinzan Shrine, participants wearing Namahage costumes perform a heroic and impressive dance that fascinates the visitors.