In August every year, Japan celebrates Obon or Bon festival. This is a Buddhist ceremony where family members pay their respects to the spirits of their ancestors. In some respects it is similar to Christmas in the West, as holiday leave is given to many workers who return to visit their families for the three day period. Many festivals are held during this period, and I chose to spend this year in Nara, at their Tokae Festival, or lantern festival.
Nara is already very famous for its deer; tame herds of deer roam through the city’s vast park and will pose for photos with tourists if they’re given a kind of rice biscuit, or sembei. They will even bow to you if you are stubborn enough with the rice biscuits.
The reason deer are so tame and common in Nara is due to the local legend surrounding Takemikazuchi. Takemikazuchi is the god of thunder and swords, and it is said that he appeared in Nara on a white deer. Subsequently, the deer were seen as protectors of the city and revered as heavenly creatures that should not be killed.
I felt quite sorry for these deer, who in the midday heat were only trying to shelter in the trees and rest, and were instead harassed by tourists who pushed sembei at them when they didn’t even want it. It was fun to try once, but it isn’t something I’d like to do again.
Nara itself hosts many beautiful temples and shrines. In the afternoon we visited Kofuku-ji and its five story pagoda, Goju-no-to.
The lantern festival took place as dusk fell. Candles are lit in stone lanterns that guide the paths through Nara Park, giving the park are magical touch. You can even buy your own lantern for 500 yen.
Tokae is a modern festival created to encourage more tourists to visit Nara in the summer months, and on the Saturday two different events are held. In Kasuga-taisha, the grand shinto shrine in Nara, hundreds of bronze lamps are hung inside the temple. These lamps are donated to the temple by people who hope their prayers will be answered by the shinto gods.
In Todai-ji, the Buddhist temple, hundreds more paper lanterns are placed around the main building. Again, these are donated by those who write their prayers on the outside of the lanterns and are dedicated to the Great Buddha that rests inside Todai-ji temple. Daibutsu, the Great Buddha inside, is the largest broze Buddha in the world, and stands at almost 50ft tall.
Nara is an incredibly beautiful and spiritual city, and reminds me of Kyoto in many ways. For anyone looking to see the older and more traditional side of Japan, Nara should be on your list.
To watch a video of my time in Nara, please click on the video below.
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