But what exactly does this do to misbehaving children? Well, in this traditional folklore, this demon would go door to door. When young children misbehaved and didn’t do chores or listen to their parents, these characters would pair up and ask where the naughty children were upon knocking.
It is often practiced around the time of the first full moon of the year or in more Western practices, on the Western New Year’s Eve. In earlier years of the Namahage, families would typically serve mochi, a type of rice cake, but newlyweds had to dress up and feed the Namahage sake and other types of foods upon arrival.
The practices of Namahage have changed over the years, including attire, times when practiced and different refrains used by the demon-like beings.
