The Free Roaming Deer at Nara Park

Nara is a good day trip if you plan on spending a bit of time in Kyoto or in the general Kansai region. The foremost significance of Nara is its being the capital of Japan before Emperor Kanmu moved the imperial seat of government to Kyoto in 794 A.D. With this move marked the beginning of the Heian period. The main reason why Emperor Kanmu moved the capital away from Nara was that the Nara Buddhists were becoming too powerful. They engaged in power struggles with the aristocrats in Nara. The Emperor wanted to detach from the influence of both the Nara Buddhists and the Fujiwara clan in Nara.


Nara is important historically as the former capital of Japan, but tourists are actually more drawn to the free roaming deer at Nara Park. The Nara deer, although wild, do greet tourists, especially those who would feed them. There are stalls selling deer crackers to tourists. Please only feed the deer with those kinds of food.


In Japanese, deer is called sika. For a very long time the Japanese people revered the deer of Nara as sacred. Legend has it that Takemikazuchi, one of the four gods of Kasuga Grand Shrine, rode a white deer and appeared on Mount Mikasa. The sika deer was so sacred that killing them was a capital offense until 1637. Although the status of the sika deer has ceased being divine since WWII, they are still protected. Please respect nature and do not taunt the deer when you feed them. The deer could be aggressive if you tease them.


#deer #nara #narapark #japan #naranature #naturalwonders #kansai
#travel#citydaytours

Post by Helen Yu (Chestnut Journal) | Mar 26, 2025