On New Year's Eve, in the cold hinterlands of northern Japan, a pack of hairy scary devils known as Namahage descend from their mountain lairs to terrorize children. They aren't going to eat them though. The Namahage want to make sure that they aren't lazy and will work hard for their family.
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From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by samuraidave.
The Namahage are Japanese devils who visit villages on the Oga peninsula every New Year’s Eve. They wear straw coats, carry large kitchen knives, and wooden buckets. They come in the night down from their mountain homes howling and waving torches. The Namahage burst into homes stomping about looking for lazy children. If the children are hiding, the Namahage will flush them out threatening to take them into the mountains.
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From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by samuraidave.
Ahh... Goodtimes!
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They also get a lot of sake in every home they enter. So at the end of their trip they're pretty drunk.
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There was an incident where one Namahage filled with sake felt up a woman in the bath house!
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In America, Christmas rewards good behavior. In Japan, we punish lazyness.
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