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Each year on New Year’s Eve the Japanese village of Oga carries out an elaborate ritual involving  demonic-like ogre figures, the Legends behind the Namahenge vary in Japan, but in Oga their story is well established and it is one everyone knows: Nearly two millennia ago, Emperor Han brought five demons with him to the region. The demons stole crops and young women. The villagers devised a ploy to thwart the demons, telling them all crops and women would be freely given to them, if first they constructed a staircase of one thousand steps in a single night. The demons agree and set to work on the staircase however, a villager imitated the crow of a rooster, signaling the break of dawn just as the demons had laid down the 999th stair. Fearing daylight, the demons rapidly retreated back Although you can find various celebrations and rituals involving the Namahage throughout Japan, no one does it better than Oga. A grand festival occurs on New Year’s Eve each year involving elaborate, costumed dances, an enormous bonfire and Japanese drumming. There’s all-you-can-drink sake, too. The highlight of the festival though is the appearance of fifte*n Namahage marching down from the mountain where they are said to live to descend upon the village. The demons hand out sticky rice cakes to the citizens of Oga, believed to ward Later that day the Namahage are preceded by a sakidachi. The sakidachi visits every house in Oga to discern first if the household is in mourning or if anyone there is suffering from a serious illness. If so, this house is overlooked for the year. If not, the sakidachi inquires if any new children  ave been born into the family and this is noted. Entry is then requested. At this time the head of household must welcome in the sakidachi and a throng of Namahage, who proceed to yell in terrifying voices and stomp around After they settle down the Namahnge are served food and sake and they begin to interview the head of household about the state of his