Blog #5: Feeding the Deer in Nara, Japan

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The Time I Fed a Deer in Japan

This is the last Japan blog post! I swear! 

If you've been keeping up with this blog so far, you have read my previous posts, and you know that I went to Japan this past summer. While I was there, I enjoyed some beautiful scenery and experienced new, wonderful things in nature. One of my favorite experiences was touring Todai-Ji, one of the largest wooden structures in the world.



First, a brief history of Todai-Ji. It used to be one of the Seven Great Temples located in Nara, Japan. this temple was instrumental in Buddhism gaining power in Japan. Nara is the most ancient capital of Japan, and so this temple was a strategic point for religious and military power. The building featured above is not the original temple, as previous temples burned down. The structure houses a giant Diabutsu or Great Buddha, that is nearly fifty feet tall. Within this Buddha are treasures of Emperor Shomu, the Emperor who originally built Todai-Ji. 

Todai-Ji is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and an important shrine that reflects ancient Japan. The whole temple complex, and the city of Nara, are also populated by a large amount of semi-domesticated deer. These deer are called sika deer or Japanese deer, and until World War II, were considered to be sacred. Presently, these deer are national treasures and are protected as such. In the parks around Nara, you can even feed the deer with rice crackers! 

This sign made me chuckle, but apparently, the deer get aggressive in mating season.



This sika buck was excited to get a rice cracker. He also thoughts my pants were rice crackers.


This goofy fishlens of this sika doe was my favorite picture I got from our time in Nara. She looks so happy! 

This type of idyllic experience with wildlife made me wistful for a different time, and maybe even a different place. Growing up in Oklahoma, I saw my fair share of deer, many much larger than their Japanese cousins. These deer would run away (or into) cars, and were either game or an invasive pest to neighborhoods. Seeing the sika deer in Japan was nearly Edenic, since the deer were content to exist near humans without running away. 

Overall, my time in Japan opened my eyes to how irreverent people on Earth are towards nature, especially in America. Japan, in both cultural and political ways, is very different than the USA in how they revere nature. Having a stronger indigenous religion and a (mostly) homogenous population empowers this nation to have strong cultural values that are lived out. It's impressive and wildly different than the incredibly diverse culture we have in America. 

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