Kids cry as discipline 'demons' visit homes, pray for health in north Japan

YUZA, Yamagata -- Traditional "amahage" demon deities recently visited some 20 homes in this northern Japan town to warn children about laziness and to pray for their health and safety.

This traditional event is designated as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage alongside the "namahage" demons of Oga, Akita Prefecture, and other "Raiho-shin, ritual visits of deities in masks and costumes."

Five local youths wearing red and black ogre masks descended from Hachiman Jinja shrine on Jan. 3, emitting high-pitched cries of "ho, ho" as they paraded around and visited homes in the town's Mega district.

At the home of Kazuhiro Ikeda, 73, Yota Takahashi, 5, was lifted up as he screamed hoarsely, "I'll be a good child!" By the end of the event, he proudly offered rice cakes to the ogres, saying, "Here you go." His mother, Maiko, 38, smiled and noted, "He's grown since last year when he only cried."

(Japanese original and video by Rika Chonan, Tsuruoka Local Bureau)