Oga; Home of the Namahage

Famous throughout the country, the Oga no Namahage rituals have been designated a National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property. Though the rituals take place all over the Oga Peninsula on New Year’s Eve, the faces and materials used for the masks, the items they hold in their hands, and the details of the legends vary from village to village based on location and the local industry. At the Namahage Museum, you can learn about the legends as well as view the many different masks. At Oga Shinzan Folklore Museum you can experience the New Year’s Eve ritual of the Shinzan District yourself. Furthermore, the museum is housed in a reconstructed residence dating back to 1907, which has been designated a National Registered Tangible Cultural Property and showcases the characteristic features of the Oga regional farmhouse architecture.

In this place, there was the Akagamisan-nissyakuji-yozenin Temple that was founded in 860 by the Buddhist priest Jikaku Daishi Ennin. After that it has converted from temple to shrine in 1870.
Akagami Shrine was founded in 860 by the Buddhist priest Jikaku Daishi Ennin, according to temple lore. Before it became a shrine in 1870, it was a temple called Akagamisan Hizumi Teranaga Zen Temple. A grouping of five identical shrines called the Goshado is located at an elevation of 180m. The present-day Goshado was built in 1709 and renovated in 1998-2001.

The 999 stone steps of the Goshado, which according to legend were built by ogres, are one source of the Oga no Namahage legends. The road from the stone steps goes from Mt. Honzan to Mt. Shinzan, ending up at Mt. Shinzan Shrine. The 11km road was used in the past by Buddhist monks in their ascetic training. These days it is a popular hiking route.

Partway up the path leading to the Mt. Shinzan Shrine Honden, or inner shrine, is the Goshaden. There used to be five shrines called the Goshado, but they burned down in a fire and were rebuilt as a single shrine. The decorated end beams are said to be characteristic of the late Edo Period. The graffiti found on the inner walls and pillars of the Honden, dating back as early as 1804 and chronicling the prayers of sailors for safe passage on the sea and of villagers for household safety, serves as an important resource in learning about the religious beliefs of the time.

Take in the view of this rice terrace from Namahage Ohashi Bridge, the longest of the seven bridges on “Namahage Line” which leads to Cape Nyudozaki at the tip of Oga Peninsula. The terraces spread out in geometric shapes, each slightly different from the next, in front of the three representative mountains of Oga Peninsula (Mt. Shinzan, Mt. Honzan, and Mt. Kenashiyama). A truly spectacular view.