is a public park located in the city of

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

, at the foot of

Mount Wakakusa , also known as Mount Mikasa (三笠山 ''Mikasa-yama''), is a hill located to the east of Nara Park in the city of Nara, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The mountain's name literally means "young grass". On the fourth Saturday of each January, the de ...

. Established in 1880, it is one of the oldest parks in Japan. Administratively, the park is under the control of

Nara Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the northwest, Wakaya ...

. The park is one of the "Places of Scenic Beauty" designated by the

Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology The , also known as MEXT or Monka-shō, is one of the eleven Ministries of Japan that composes part of the executive branch of the Government of Japan. Its goal is to improve the development of Japan in relation with the international community ...

(MEXT). Over 1,200 wild

sika deer The sika deer (''Cervus nippon''), also known as the Northern spotted deer or the Japanese deer, is a species of deer native to much of East Asia and introduced to other parts of the world. Previously found from northern Vietnam in the south to ...

( or ''shika'') freely roaming around in the park are also under designation of MEXT, classified as natural treasure. While the official size of the park is about , the area including the grounds of

Tōdai-ji is a Buddhist temple complex that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples, located in the city of Nara, Japan. Though it was originally founded in the year 738 CE, Tōdai-ji was not opened until the year 752 CE. The temple has undergo ...

Kōfuku-ji is a Buddhist temple that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples in the city of Nara, Japan. The temple is the national headquarters of the Hossō school. History Kōfuku-ji has its origin as a temple that was established in 669 b ...

, and

Kasuga Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Nara, Nara Prefecture, Japan. It is the shrine of the Fujiwara family, established in 768 CE and rebuilt several times over the centuries. The interior is famous for its many bronze lanterns, as well as the many stone lan ...

, which are either on the edge or surrounded by Nara Park, is as large as . While Nara Park is usually associated with the broad areas of the temples and the park proper, previously private gardens are now open to public. These gardens make use of the temple buildings as adjunct features of their landscapes. The park is home to the

Nara National Museum The is one of the pre-eminent national art museums in Japan. Introduction The Nara National Museum is located in Nara, which was the capital of Japan from 710 to 784. Katayama Tōkuma (1854–1917) designed the original building, which is a r ...

and Todai-ji, where the largest wooden building in the world houses a 15-metre (50 ft) tall statue of

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

Deer

According to local folklore,

from this area were considered sacred due to a visit from

Takemikazuchi is a deity in Japanese mythology, considered a god of thunder and a sword god. He also competed in what is considered the first sumo wrestling match recorded in history. He is otherwise known as "The ''kami'' of Kashima"" (Kashima-no-kami), th ...

, one of the four gods of

.''Fodor's Japan 18th Edition'' (2007) He was said to have been invited from Kashima Shrine in present-day

Ibaraki Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Ibaraki Prefecture has a population of 2,871,199 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Ibaraki Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, Tochigi Prefecture ...

, and appeared on

Mount Mikasa , also known as Mount Mikasa (三笠山 ''Mikasa-yama''), is a hill located to the east of Nara Park in the city of Nara, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The mountain's name literally means "young grass". On the fourth Saturday of each January, the d ...

(also known as Mount Wakakusa) riding a white deer. From that point, the deer were considered divine and sacred by both Kasuga Shrine and Kōfuku-ji. Killing one of these sacred deer was a capital offense punishable by death up until 1637, the last recorded date of a breach of that law. Shikasenbei

After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the deer were officially stripped of their sacred/divine status, and were instead designated as

natural monument A natural monument is a natural or natural/cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities or cultural significance. Under World Commission on Protected Areas guidelines, na ...

( ''Tennen kinenbutsu'') and are protected as such. Today, visitors can purchase "deer-crackers" ( '' Shika-senbei'') to feed the deer in the park. These crackers are exclusively sold by the WNOW company. The number of deer grew in the postwar period to around 1,200 in 2008, leading to concerns about environmental and crop damage and discussion of

culling In biology, culling is the process of segregating organisms from a group according to desired or undesired characteristics. In animal breeding, it is the process of removing or segregating animals from a breeding stock based on a specific tr ...

. In 2016, a record number of 121 people were injured by deer. In 2016 it was announced that the area around Nara would be designated into four different zones, with the outer zones allowing deer to be captured and killed. In August 2017, traps were set to catch deer on the outskirts of Nara. The culling started in 2017, with a limit of 120 deer to be culled during 2017. In July 2017 there were around 1,500 deer living in the park, and at least 164 people had been injured by them from 2017 to 2018. Most of them were tourists feeding the deer. In April 2018 Nara city set up new signs in English, Chinese and Japanese informing tourists that the deer are wild animals and to not tease them during feeding. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

in 2020, the Japanese government implemented travel restrictions. The amount of tourists feeding the Nara deer decreased significantly. The deer lost a vital source of food and began to forage outside of the park. There were concerns that the deer could get hit by vehicles or die from eating harmful plastic and other litter. In 2010 and 2021, deer were killed illegally and suspects were arrested.

In popular culture

Alt-J Alt-J (stylised as alt-J, real name Δ) are an English indie rock band formed in 2007 in Leeds. Their lineup includes Joe Newman (guitar/lead vocals), Thom Sonny Green (drums), Gus Unger-Hamilton (keyboards/vocals), and formerly Gwilym Sainsbu ...

's 2014 album, ''

This Is All Yours ''This Is All Yours'' is the second album by English indie rock band alt-J, released on September 22, 2014 through Infectious. It was promoted with four singles: " Hunger of the Pine", "Left Hand Free", " Every Other Freckle", and "Warm Foothill ...

'' has the track "Nara" which mentions Nara Park in its lyrics.

Gallery

File:浮見堂.JPG, Ukimidou Pavilion File:Chaya (teahouse) in Nara Park.jpg, Chaya within the park, offering tea and

wagashi are traditional Japanese confections that are often served with green tea, especially the types made of ''mochi'', ''anko'' ( azuki bean paste), and fruit. ''Wagashi'' are typically made from plant-based ingredients. History In Japan, the wo ...

File:Nara Mizutani-tyaya01ds3872.jpg, Chaya opens File:JP-Nara-Park-1.jpg,

Torii A is a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the mundane to the sacred. The presence of a ''torii'' at the entrance is usually the simple ...

inside the park File:Nara Park, November 2016.jpg, A path inside the park File:JP-Nara-Park-2.jpg, More than 1000 lanterns adorn the park File:Sika_deer_in_Nara_09.jpg, Deer approaching tourists File:Sika deer in Nara Park, November 2016.jpg, The deer are freely roaming around in both park and temples File:Farsari, Adolfo (1841-1898) - F48 - Park, Nara.jpg, Nara Park, photograph by Adolfo Farsari (before 1898).

References

External links

Official website(Japanese)Nara Park, from The Official Nara Travel Guide
{{Coord, 34.685, 135.85, display=title Nara, Nara Places of Scenic Beauty Urban public parks in Japan Parks and gardens in Nara Prefecture Buddhism in the Meiji period