Made a mutual friendship with the deer.. 🧍🏼♀️🦌
Deer eyeing for crackers (shika senbei) on my hand and i need the deer for photo..
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According to local folklore, Shika deer from this area were considered sacred due to a visit from Takemikazuchi-no-mikoto, one of the four gods of Kasuga Shrine. He was said to have been invited from Kashima Shrine in present-day Ibaraki Prefecture and appeared on Mount Mikasa (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.
After World War II, the deer were officially stripped of their sacred/divine status, and were instead designated as national treasures and are protected as such.
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Today, visitors can purchase "deer-crackers" (鹿煎餅 Shika-senbei) to feed the deer in the park. The deer cracker made of wheat flour and rice bran. These treats are made without any sugar for the health of the deer, making them completely safe for visitors to offer the animals. Deer crackers are a registered trademark of the Foundation for the Protection of Deer in Nara, and a portion of their profits goes to efforts to protect the deer.
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