My ''deer'' Japan...

Hello hello my fellow followers!

   I am back!

   That's right, almost two days away in Nara and Kyoto and now I have finally returned to my dear Ise house. Honestly, is good to be back.

   So, Nara and Kyoto: 2 famous cities in Japan, the first for its remarkable Shrine and Temple grounds from the Nara period, and the second one for its traditional and yet metropolitan side. We visited many Shrines and Temples, especially in Nara. 

   But, since there were so many things that I saw, I want to dedicate one post to each of those things.

   Starting by my favourite thing in this entire weekend: Deers

  

   Indeed, their were my favourite experience in this entire weekend, at the Todai-ji (Temple) and the Kasuga Taisha (Shrine). But what is so special about deers? Certainly most of you have already seen deers. However, how many of you have interacted with them like this? 

   A total of 350 deers live within the Nara Shrines and Temples, in their natural environment. As you can see in the pictures above, they are not afraid of people. They walk normally, they follow those who have food or even a piece of paper, they lick your clothes, they enjoy being petted and, a lot of them, even seem to know how to bow, with their necks, after receiving some food. You do not see these deers running from anything. 

   These animals are said to be linked to the Kasuga Shrine, a Shinto building with more than a 1 000 years old, home of 4 Kami. In the past, it was stated that whoever harmed or killed one these messengers of the Kami would face the death penalty. Today, their reputation has messangers still remain and so does the law, except the punishment is no longer that severe.  

Kasuga Taisha

   It's interesting to see the long affiliation that these animals have with the people. In one second you walk behind a person and in the next second that person moves away and you see a big deer coming your way, forcing you to move away aswell. There is really no peace, once you are having a picnic with deers around you. They are not agressive, just really really hungry deers. You do not want to run away with food in your hands, seriously.   

   I wonder how many years it took for these deers to trust the people like this, or how many prayers? 

   They were, really, everywhere and it was a different experience, thanks to them. 

   I am now going to start my last week in this course. It will end in 4 days, but I will only return home at 18th of March. Until then, I still have more things to write about my weekend in Nara and Kyoto, aswell as my last experiences in Japan. Please look forward to them.

   Hope you have enjoyed reading this post. Tomorrow is a special ceremony day, in which we will return to the Geku, as special guests to enter the Honden. 

Diogo here, thank you for reading and stay tuned for more!