October 8th, 9th & 10th
Nara Park is well known its ~1,200 sika (shika) deer that are so accustomed to people that they will eat shika-senbei deer crackers out of your hand. Come the October and November breeding season, however, the buck (male) deer can become quite aggressive toward both each other and toward Nara residents and visitors. They can also cause damage to trees and property with their antlers. To prevent deer related injuries to residents and visitors, and damage to public and private property, Nara takes the necessary precaution of cutting off the deer’s antlers in a ceremony known as the Shika no Tsunokiri.
The first Shika no Tsunokiri, or Antler Cutting Ceremony, took place in 1672. At the time the task of cutting off the deer’s antlers was the responsibility of special staff from Kofukuji Temple, as they were the caretakers of the deer, and the antler cutting took place at various locations throughout Nara City. The duty of antler cutting was handed over to Kasuga Shrine in the 19th century and carried out on the main road heading to the shrine. In the 20th century the duty of caring for the deer and insuring the safety of the public was passed on to Nara Park and the Foundation for the Protection of Deer in Nara. A special location to care for sick and injured deer and to carry out the Antler-cutting Ceremony, the Rokuen, was established and the spectacle was opened to the general public.
During the Shika no Tsunokiri, 4 buck deer are brought into the Rokuen’s oval-shaped field where they are chased and captured one-at-a-time by a group of 10 deer-wranglers called “seko”. The seko use an X-shaped bamboo cross (“juji”) and a rope to snare the deer’s antlers. The rope is then wrapped around one of 2 wooden posts and the deer reeled in until the seko can subdue it and lay it down on a tatami mat cushion. Once the deer is captured a priest from Kasuga Shrine gives it water to calm it down and then saws its antlers off with a special saw. The deer is then released and the antlers offered to one of Kasuga Shrine’s deities. While it may seem cruel, deer antlers are made of the same material as human fingernails and they fall out every winter and are replaced by new antlers in the spring.
The Shika no Tsunokiri takes place on the second weekend of October (a 3-day holiday weekend which includes the “Taiku no Hi” Sports Day holiday on Monday) every year, and 5 antler cutting sessions happen about every half-hour each day starting at 12:30pm. Admission is ¥1,000 for adults and ¥500 for children elementary school aged and younger.
Works consulted:
http://expatsguide.jp/features/festivals-in-japan/shika-no-tsunokiri/
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/japan/kansai/nara/events/local-festivals-culture/shika-no-tsunokiri
http://www.att-japan.net/en/spot/ES001804
http://naradeer.com/common/img/events/tsunokiri2016.pdf (Japanese)
http://yamatoji.nara-kankou.or.jp/04public/03hall/01north_area/rokuentsunokirijo/event/0000000001 (Japanese)
http://www.kasugano.com/kankou/shikaen/index2.html (Japanese)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMADG-dpZfc
http://coolnara.net/jp/rokuen/ (Japanese)