The festivals of Japan, also known as matsuri (祭り), are huge cultural attractions for both locals and tourists alike. While many of them are of Shinto origin, food festivals and scenic festivals–especially the illuminations during the winter holiday season, are especially popular.
In this three-part essay series, we will be taking a look at some of the lesser-known Japanese festivals. Because there are many of them, I have narrowed it down to nine in total. Each segment will focus on the festival’s origin/legend, the practice or notable rituals, and any first-hand accounts from attendees or participants in said festival.
Today, we will focus on three scary festivals of Japan: the Nakizumo Festival, where sumo wrestlers make babies cry; the Namahage Sedo Festival (なまはげ柴灯まつり), where demonic messengers from the gods seek out lazy children, and the Paantu Festival, where chaotic gods cover everyone and everything with mud.
Scary Festivals of Japan 1: Nakizumo – The Baby Crying Contest
The Practice
Around every April, parents bring their one-year-old babies to Sensoji Temple in Tokyo’s Asakusa neighborhood for the nakizumo, or crying sumo tournament. Dressed in small mawashi, the babies are carried by actual sumo wrestlers, face each other in the ring, and are made to cry.
Methods include lifting the baby in the air, jostling them, or making silly faces. In addition, they, along with the audience will chant “cry, cry, cry”. However, if that doesn’t work, the sumo wrestlers will put on oni (demon) masks. The baby who cries the loudest and/or the longest wins.
The prize for crying–whether first or at all–is a long and healthy life. Parents receive a charm and a Chamaki dumpling afterwards. While the idea of making children cry on purpose may seem unsettling at first, the overall atmosphere is light-hearted. On top of that, central themes such as longevity and spiritual protection underlie the tradition, which dates back over 400 years.
The Legend
The key tenet of nakizumo is the proverb 「泣く子は育つ」(naku ko wa sodatsu), which translates to “Crying children grow strong”. It is believed that the wail of a child can protect them from demons or anything else that might bring them harm. From an objective standpoint, it makes sense, since the cry of a child causes a visceral reaction in most human beings.
As much as some of us may be averse to the sound, it is ideal for a baby to cry when they are in distress, as it is their only form of communication during this stage in their life. A 2004 blog post written by Kishimoto Genki, director of the Parent and Child Mental Health Institute in Fukuoka, gives a fuller perspective on the matter:
生まれてから 最初に持つ 表現の手段は 「泣くこと」です。悲しいから泣くのではなく 表現の方法のひとつとして備わっているものです。赤ん坊のときには、お腹がすいたりお尻が気持ち悪いときに泣きます。これは、お母さんへの合図です。
幼児になると 自分の主張を伝える方法として 泣きます。そして少しずつ大きくなるにつれて 表現のバリエーションも増えてきていろんな方法を使いはじめます。
泣くことを 表現として捉えると 泣く回数が多いということは
表現の回数が多いということなのです。表現が多いということは、「発達」している証拠なのです。だからこそ 泣くことを 否定的にとらえずに これを「ますます成長している」と捉えてあげることが大切です.
From the moment we are born, the first thing we do is cry. It’s more than just a mere expression of sadness–it’s a key form of communication. As babies, we cry when we are hungry, when we need our diaper changed, etc. Our cries serve as a signal to our mothers.
Crying is a means to express your needs and desires. As we grow older, our range of expressions expand, and we can communicate in a variety of ways.
The fact that we cry often, means that we communicate often. The ability to express ourselves is a key sign of development.
That’s why it’s important to consider the tears of a child not as something negative, but as a necessity.
-Kishimoto Genki, director of the Parent-Child Mental Health Institute
An Experience
It’s important to note that even though the most famous nakizumo festival is located in Asakusa, it is not limited to that neighborhood. Other nakizumo locations include Nanasha Shrine in Nishigahara and Gokoku Shrine in Hiroshima, the former of which takes place in July. As a matter of fact, because this festival is so integral to families and their newborns, there is a nationwide directory of festival sites, which is convenient for those who can’t make it to the Asakusa event.
According to a first-hand account from a participant at the Nanasha Shrine nakizumo, the participation fee can be expensive–in this case, about ¥13,000 (roughly USD $120). Fortunately, this is an all-inclusive fee. In addition to participation, the fee covers the opening prayer, mawashi costume, sumo handprint, taiko drum photo op, amulets, and a stepping session (四股踏み; shikofumi) with another wrestler.
Scary Festivals of Japan 2: Namahage Sedo – Demons That Scare You Straight
The Practice
During the first week of February, in snowy Oga City of Akita Prefecture, families gather at Shinzan Shrine to meet with the namahage-demonic figures portrayed by men in oni masks and mino straw capes. Once the priests summon them, a group of namahage bound down from the mountains with torches and prop knives, growling the whole way.
They open with a Shinto ceremony, taiko performance and dance. However, the main event is a reenactment of a traditional namahage village visit. They come in the crowd “brandishing” their weapons and ask if there are “any crybabies” or “lazy children” in deep, troll-like voices. Said children will be snatched up, and admonished for such indolent behavior. This, of course, terrifies the children.
In order to make the namahage leave, the attendees must offer them mochi, specifically mochi roasted over a bonfire by a Shinto priest. Once they’ve had their fill, the namahage retreat into the mountains.
The Legend
Multiple legends surround the origin of the namahage. The most prominent one centers around the “999 Steps Legend” at Goshado Shrine. According to this tale, Emperor Wu came from China with five bats, looking to find a medicinal plant. This plant was the key ingredient in an elixir of immortality. Fortunately, the bats shapeshifted into demons and worked non-stop to find the plant. Eventually, they became burnt out and asked for some time off.
Emperor Wu let them take off on the “15th of the New Year” (read: Lunar New Year). Much to his chagrin, the demons really let loose. They went down to the nearest village and “stole crops, animals, and even young girls.” The angry villagers proposed the following deal to Emperor Wu:
“If the demons could make a thousand stone steps from the beach to Goshado shrine [sic], located on the summit of the mountain, in a single night before the roosters crowed, they would offer a girl to them every year. If they could not, the demons were never to return.”
-”Legends of the Namahage”, on the main page of Oga’s Namahage
Contrary to the villagers’ expectations, the demons built the 999 steps well before dawn. In a last ditch effort to protect their home, the village commissioned their fool to imitate the rooster’s crow well ahead of time. Defeated, the demons ran away into the mountains, never to be seen again.
An Experience
The namahage are not simply an annual attraction–they are the pride and joy of Akita Prefecture, especially in the Oga Peninsula. Even outside of the Namahage Sedo Festival, they are seen as messengers of the gods come to give warnings and bring good luck to those who cross their path. Though their image may be frightening, it’s important to remember that “scary” doesn’t always mean “evil”.
For the past thirty years, interest in namahage had waned, due to severe population decrease in the area. Yet, that’s recently turned around, thanks to UNESCO registering the namahage as a cultural property in December 2018. While means of year-round promotion is still in the beginning stages, Oga has played with the idea of creating “demon-themed biscuits, rubber stamps and even a facial skin mask”, according to a 2019 Japan Times article.
Scary Festivals of Japan 3: Paantu – Muddy Spirits Against Evil
The Practice
Around early October, on the southern Okinawan island of Miyako-jima, male villagers dress up as muddy, supernatural beings known as paantu (パーントゥ). The paantu (lit. “fierce god”) are literally earthy spirits who emerge from their realm to bring good luck to the Miyako area. Because of their ties to the native Ryukyu pantheon, paantu are sometimes accompanied by local animist priestesses.
The paantu are tall, with long masks covering their faces. They usually tour in trios, as the uya-paantu, nnaka paantu, and the ffa-paantu–parent, middle and child paantu respectively. The mud they are covered in is sourced from a special spring called nmaliga. Before their tour, the paantu observe morning prayers with priestesses, and engage in a drinking ritual with men at religious and/or revered sites.
(As a side note: Yes, anime fans – the paantu are the inspiration for Kaonashi, a.k.a. No-Face in Hayao Miyazaki’s classic work Spirited Away.)
Once they cross paths with the general public, however, the paantu’s most notable ritual begins. Anyone or anything they come across gets covered in mud. Adults, children, houses, cars, and cameras are all fair game. The purpose is to drive out the evil in the area. By nightfall, the paantu are completely surrounded by attendees with varying degrees of aversion to their mucky embrace.
The Legend
As previously noted, the segment at which the paantu appear to the public happens much later in the festival. There is an extensive amount of preparation and spiritual rites that take place beforehand.
First is the Sumafusara ritual, where people hang handmade ropes filled with pig bone around the perimeter of town, at all of its entrances/exits. These ropes, also known as shimenawa, are believed to ward off evil and illness. Some of that same sacred rope is used as part of the paantu costume:
“It’s thought that the basis for the paantu appearing from the well has an underlying idea that the well leads to the paradise over the sea called Nirai Kanai. Then, on top of the [paantu’s] head, a single stalk of tied susuki grass is inserted; in one hand a staff made of danchiku (a kind of plant); in the other hand the mask is carried and covers the face.”
-Agency for Cultural Affairs, 1997, originally cited by Katharine R. M. Schramm in her PhD dissertation, “PAANTU: VISITING DEITIES, RITUAL, AND HERITAGE
IN SHIMAJIRI, MIYAKO ISLAND, JAPAN”
An Experience
Due to the perceived novelty of the Paantu festival, it is popular with tourists as well as locals. Unfortunately, because of this and the free admission to the event, it is susceptible to overcrowding and misunderstandings, especially within recent years. Even though it’s general knowledge that the Paantu Festival takes place in early October, the exact dates are no longer displayed on the Miyakojima Tourism Association website.
Those who wish to attend the event have to contact the organization directly for the exact dates, due to an overwhelming amount of tourist complaints. It’s strongly advised that attendees should wear “throwaway clothes” so to speak, since there is a strong chance that they will get dirty:
私たちが観光で行く際、大切なことは、宮古島の地元の人々が神として崇めている「パーントゥ」を尊重し、この地区の伝統行事だということをちゃんと理解しながら参加しましょう。
-Aoki Sanae, “Shimajiri, Home to the Strange Paantu Festival”
When sightseeing [in Miyako-jima] it’s important to respect the “Paantu”, as they are worshipped by the locals as gods. The [Paantu Punaha] is both a traditional and sacred ritual.”
Would you attend these festivals? What other scary or mysterious festivals have you attended, whether in Japan, your home country, or a different location altogether? Let us know in the comments below, or on Facebook/Twitter.
Further Reading
Schramm, Katharine R. M. 2016. “Paantu: Visiting Deities, Ritual and Heritage in Shimajiri, Miyako Island, Japan“. University of Indiana.
Author’s Notes
9/27/2021: “Lunar New Year” was originally written as “Chinese New Year” in the Namahage Sedo: The Legend section. It has since been corrected.
