Matsuri da! (1): Performing in whiteface

Back in the bad old days, performers in the United States would get on stage and perform in blackface, but that’s no longer considered an acceptable form of entertainment.

Every December, however, the people of Haki in Fukuoka Prefecture continue a tradition that dates back several hundred years by getting ripped on sake and running around town in whiteface.

The occasion—or the excuse–is the Oshiroi Festival held by the Oyamazumi Shinto shrine, during which the town’s elders slather white paste on the faces of everyone attending a banquet at the shrine. Since this is Japan, everyone thinks it’s perfectly natural to get drunk and act funky at a religious festival conducted by a priest in a religious institution.

They’re getting the pasty faces for a reason, of course. The better the oshiroi (literally, honorable white, which is also the name for the cosmetics used in kabuki) sticks to one’s face, the more likely that person will enjoy a bountiful harvest the following year. You’re not supposed to wash it off before you get home—that’s bad luck—and if you dump it into a fire, your house will burn down.

But the reported benefits are many. Mix it with the animal feed after you get home, and it will protect you from illness and disaster. (It’s made from the powder of newly harvested rice mixed with water, so it’s edible.) The oshiroi supposedly contributes to a long life, and the residents of Haki cite that as the reason for their longevity. The number of young women flocking to the festival is growing because the mixture is said to promote beautiful skin.

And that’s not to mention the therapeutic benefits of attending a banquet, getting your face painted with the rest of the neighbors, and laughing yourself silly as you stagger home.

See for yourself by clicking here for a clip from Japanese TV. (About 2:35)