A good concept, unique theme, sense of humor, and smooth performance are the criteria for judging the entries in this special contest. Begun in 1979 and staged more than 75 times since, "Masquerade" continues to rank as one of the most popular entertainment contests in Japan. Participating in "Masquerade" takes more than just dressing up like at Halloween! For this contest, the entrants - one person or a group of people - not only wear costumes, which they make themselves, but also use props, make-up and parts of their own bodies to ingeniously represent through actions all kind of subjects: famous people, things, animals, products, phenomena , etc.  NTV is proud to say that "Masquerade" is one of the most unique entertainment shows anywhere in the world.