Noto no Amamehagi Traditional Japanese Ritual Held in Disaster-Hit Noto to Ward Off Misfortune

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:52 JST, February 3, 2025

NOTO, Ishikawa — The Noto no Amamehagi ritual took place in Noto, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Sunday, with children who were wearing ogre masks and straw raincoats visiting houses to ward off misfortune and evil spirits.

Although the ritual has been passed down from long ago in Noto and the city of Wajima in the prefecture, it was canceled last year due to the Noto Peninsula Earthquake.

The event was registered as an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 2018 as part of a “Raiho-shin, ritual visits of deities in masks and costumes,” which comprises 10 traditional events in eight prefectures.

The word “amame” is a dialect word for temporary skin discoloration caused by long exposure to the low heat of heating equipment such as an irori fireplace. Amamehagi is said to warn people against being lazy.

In Noto, the ritual is usually held at four districts on Setsubun, which usually falls around Feb. 3, but it was held in three districts this year, where work to restore roads had progressed.

In the Akiyoshi district, seven elementary and junior high school students put on ogre masks, straw raincoats and aprons, and went around to about 20 houses, shouting “amame.”

“It was nice to hear the cheerful voices of the children for the first time in a while,” an 89-year-old female local resident said.