murmurTraditional Deer Antler Cutting Ceremony (Shika no Tsunokiri)
Nara City · Rokuen Antler-Cutting Arena, Kasuga Taisha grounds (Nara Park)
Dates and details can change. Always check the official website before you go.
Nara Deer Preservation Foundation · Last checked: Oct 10, 2026
Dates
Dates confirmed with official sources
- 2026
- Nov 7–8, 2026 11:45–15:00 (doors open 11:15, last entry 14:30)
- 2027
- Dates have not been announced yet. Please check the official website.
- Usual timing
- Usually early November
- How the date is set
- Changes from year to year Formerly held in October; moved to November from 2025
- Venue
- Rokuen Antler-Cutting Arena, Kasuga Taisha grounds (Nara Park)
- City
- Nara City, Nara
About
Each autumn in Nara, handlers wrestle rutting bucks down and saw off their antlers, a custom started in 1672 by the Nara magistrate and kept up for about 350 years. The aim was to stop the bucks, short-tempered in mating season, from injuring people. After a Kasuga Taisha priest prays for safety, men in headbands and happi coats wave red flags to herd a buck into the ring, then, to the pounding of taiko, hurl a cross-shaped bamboo snare called a juji onto its antlers. It's a dramatic tussle. The deer is laid on a straw mat and given water by a man acting as priest to settle it before the antlers are sawn off and offered at the altar; at this time of year they hold no blood vessels or nerves, so it doesn't hurt. Tickets are required, and the proceeds go toward protecting Nara's deer.
Sources
- OfficialNara Deer Preservation Foundation naradeer.com
- OfficialNara City Tourism Association narashikanko.or.jp
Last checked: Oct 10, 2026. Event information is based on official announcements, but changes may not always be reflected here. Please check each official website for accurate details.
Other events this month
On the day, see what locals are murmuring on the murmur map
murmur is an app that shows short, anonymous posts on a map, right where they were written. On festival day, open the map around the venue and see what people nearby are saying.