Abstract
“Oga no Namahage”, one of the folk events representing Akita Prefecture, was designated as an important intangible national folk cultural property in 1978, and a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage as one of “Raiho-shin, ritual visits of deities in masks and costumes” in 2018. During these forty years, Namahage events have been disrupted in nearly half the local communities in Oga due to factors such as lack of successors caused by the declining birthrate, aging society, and a decrease in the number of households inviting them. I discuss the current issues regarding the succession of Namahage events, based on my surveys conducted on the residents of three communities. There were cases of tourists and foreign students being incorporated into the events as assistants, and cases in which newcomers played important roles in the resumption or revival. While local people have already been flexibly adapting to the social changes, seeking successors among unrelated people from outside, and especially accepting women as Namahage performers are essential elements for local people which disrupt the very foundation of the events.
