Japanese folklore encompasses the informally learned folk traditions of Japan and the Japanese people as expressed in its oral traditions, customs, and material culture.
A raccoon dog half transformed into a cauldron hangs from a jizai kagi hook over an irori hearth (scene from the tale Bunbuku Chagama). C. 1840s, School of Hokusai.
Kuniyoshi Utagawa, The Ghosts, c. 1850
The Namahage are demonlike beings portrayed by men wearing hefty oni (ogre) masks and traditional straw capes (mino) during a New Year's ritual, in local northern Japanese folklore of the Oga Peninsula area of Akita Prefecture.
A dancing drummer wearing a Namahage costume, performed Namahage-Daiko in Akita Station.
Namahage costumes
Namahage-kan or Namahage Museum, Oga, Akita
Namahage Museum