Normally, Nara Park, which is crowded with tourists at this time of year, is lonely this year.  The deer also seem to be lonely, wandering slowly between the autumnal trees.  No one gives the deer Shika Senbei, so they occasionally stop and eat the acorns and grass that have fallen to the ground. These deer are wild and have been designated as a national natural monument as a “Nara deer”.  These deer which have been deeply protected as deer gods of Kasuga Taisha Shrine since the Nara period gave rise to many tragedies as a result of excessive protection. For example, a child who was about to be eaten calligraphy paper by a deer threw a paperweight at the deer and killed it, and he was sentenced to “Ishikozume (punishment buried in the ground) and was killed. Beware that deer bowing is not because they are polite, but because it is a threat to demand Shika Senbei.

例年なら、この時期、観光客で賑わう奈良公園も、今年は人もまばらです。鹿も手持ち無沙汰な様子で、紅葉した木々の間をゆっくり徘徊しています。鹿煎餅をくれる人もなく、時折立ち止まって、地面に落ちたドングリや草を食べています。この鹿は野生で「奈良のシカ」として国の天然記念物に指定されています。奈良時代から春日大社の神鹿として厚く保護され、時には過剰な保護の結果、鹿に書道の半紙を食べられそうになった子供が、その鹿に文鎮を投げつけて死なせ、「石子詰め」の刑で死罪になると言う悲劇も生まれました。鹿のお辞儀も、礼儀正しいのではなく、煎餅を要求する威嚇ですから、ご用心下さい。