Namahage Museum

Oga no Namahage was designated as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage in 2018, as one of the ”Raiho-shin, ritual visits of deities in masks and costumes.” Said to be the messenger of gods on Mt. Shinzan and Honzan, namahage has been passed on as traditional folklore event since olden times as a god that makes the rounds of houses in the village, warns any wrongdoers, shakes off bad luck and brings bountiful harvests, big catches of fish and lucky events.
The museum displays over 150 various namahage masks from different regions of Oga, and the arrays of life-sized namahage statues make quite a scene.
Namahage Densho Hall (The Namahage Legend Theater) illustrates the rules of namahage and the spirit of people who have preserved the tradition. On every hour and every 30 minutes, the movie ”An Evening with the Namahage” is played, introducing the namahage custom on New Year's Eve. Also popular is the Namahage Costume Booth where you can change into a namahage, wearing the actual mask and costume for a snapshot.