Kasuga Taisha: Ancient Shintō Site in Nara

Nara Park and Sacred Deer

Nestled at the base of Mount Mikasa inside Nara Park, the Shintō shrine Kasuga Taisha has been drawing visitors to its confines since ancient times. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site that includes other nearby historic monuments like the Buddhist temples Tōdaiji and Kōfukuji.

The shrine is associated with the herds of wild deer that roam Nara Park, charming tourists with their escapades. The ungulates are considered messengers of the shrine’s gods and enjoy protection as natural national monuments. A scholarly paper published in January 2023 argues that the revered animals have been worshipped at Kasuga Taisha since the Nara period (710–94), noting that the deer established themselves in the area about 1,400 years ago, and having been spared hunting that wiped out neighboring herds, present a distinctive DNA line.

There are about 1,200 deer living in and around Nara Park.

Legend attributes the beginnings of Kasuga Taisha to the shrine’s principal deity, Takemikazuchi-no-mikoto, who is said to have alighted on Mount Mikasa, popularly known as Mount Kasuga, having traveled from Kashima Shrine in what is today Ibaraki Prefecture astride a white deer.

The Fujiwara clan, a powerful political family that prospered from the Nara period to the Heian period (794–1185), worshiped at Kasuga Taisha. Although holding tremendous sway at the imperial court, members of family are said to have alighted from their carriages upon encountering a deer as a mark of respect for the sacred creatures.

Neither hunting nor logging were permitted on Mount Mikasa, prohibitions that have made it a safe haven for the resident wild deer. The primeval forest that extends next to the shrine is home to diverse ecosystems and is part of the UNESCO listing.

At the summit of Mount Mikasa stands Hongū Shrine, marking the spot where Takemikazuchi-no-mikoto alighted. The main hall of the shrine is closed to the public, who may pay their respects at the nearby Ukigumo no Mine worship hall to the east.

Where the Powerful Worshipped

Early on, the Fujiwara worshipped at a shrine standing atop the Ukigumo Peak of Mount Mikasa. In 768, though, the Empress Shōtoku, also known as Empress Kōken (r. 749–758, 764–770), ordered the family to erect a worship hall where Kasuga Taisha now stands. Three other kami, Futsunushi-no-mikoto from Katori in present-day Chiba Prefecture and Amenokoyane-no-mikoto and his consort Himegami, said to be ancestors of the Fujiwara clan, from Makioka in what is today Osaka Prefecture, were also enshrined at this time.

The Fujiwara made the Kasuga Taisha their tutelary shrine and Kōfukuji their tutelary temple, both of which thrived under their patronage. The imperial family and other nobility also paid frequent visits to Kasuga Taisha. The Kasuga Festival, held each March 13, started in 849 to mark the visit to the shrine by an imperial messenger. It is considered along with Kyoto’s Kamo (Aoi) Festival and Iwashimizu Festival as one of the three great “imperial messenger” festivals.

A procession at the Kasuga Festival. (© Matui Yoshihiro)

Around the twelfth century a new warrior class emerged in Japan whose members petitioned the kami of Kasuga Taisha to improve their prowess in martial arts and prayed for good fortune in battle. Over time, the shrine also grew in popularity with commoners, and today, there are about 3,000 affiliated shrines throughout the country.

The shrine’s Chūmon, or “middle gate,” has 13-meter-long corridors extending to the left and right that are designated important cultural properties. Worshippers pray in front of the gate, which leads to the shrine’s honden (main hall) beyond.

The Nanmon, the “south gate” that serves as the main entrance to the shrine, stands 12 meters high, making it the largest of the shrine’s many two-storied gates.

The sacred area enclosing the four sanctuaries where the main kami are enshrined is called the Ōmiya. Almost all the main structures of the shrine, from the Chūmon to the encircling covered corridors and gates, are designated important cultural properties.

The structures of Kasuga Taisha incorporate the essence of the building techniques of the Nara and Heian periods. The main hall of the Ōmiya in particular is built in the style known as kasuga-zukuri. This representative architectural mode was commonly used for Shintō shrines and is still found today in features like the large, sloping roofs and eaves. Similar to the famous Ise Shrine, Kasuga Taisha rebuilds or refurbishes its structures every 20 years, a practice that has continued uninterrupted for 12 centuries. The sanctuaries for the four main kami stand side by side, an unusual arrangement, and are designated national treasures.

The main hall of the Wakamiya Shrine employs the same architectural style as that of the Ōmiya.

A giant old-growth cedar measuring 8.7 meters in circumference and towering 25 meters tall stands next to the main path leading to the shrine.

Many sacred trees grow in the shrine precincts, including a giant cedar estimated to be between 800 to 1,000 years old. Another tree, the nanairo no yorigi, is believed to bestow the blessing of children to those who pray to it.

Kasuga Taisha is also known for its wisteria, which bloom in late spring. Just past the Nanmon grows one of the shrine’s most famous specimens, the sunazuri no fuji, named for its abundant blossoms that at their peak hang so heavy that they brush the ground. Wisteria feature on the shrine’s crest as well as that of the Fujiwara clan. Over 200 wisterias of different varieties grow in the adjacent Man’yō Botanical Garden.

The famous sunazuri no fuji is said to have been donated by the Konoe family, direct descendants of the Fujiwara, and is purported to be more than 700 years old. (© Pixta)

The wisteria grove in the Man’yō Botanical Garden. The flowers are in full bloom from late April to early May. (© Pixta)

A Plenitude of Lanterns

Another hallmark of Kasuga Taisha is its nearly 3,000 lanterns, both stone and metal, that adorn the precincts. Shrine public relations officer Akita Shingo says that the oldest lanterns where donated by members of the nobility and warrior class and date from the Muromachi period (1338–1568). However, he points out that many were also gifted to the shrine by ordinary people.

Press officer Akita Shingo explains about the shrine’s stone lanterns. Over 70% of the lanterns still in existence in Japan that predate the Muromachi period are at Kasuga Taisha, which boasts the largest number of lanterns in the country.

Akita explains that the Japanese custom of placing stone lanterns along the sandō, the main path for worshippers, began with Kasuga Taisha. Lanterns originally hung in front of the main halls at shrines and temples to provide light for the kami and Buddhist deities enshrined within. At Kasuga Taisha, they were also positioned along the oaimichi, the path leading to the Ōmiya and subsidiary shrines like the Wakamiya Shrine, to signify the whole as a sacred area. The first stone lanterns along the route were installed toward the end of the Kamakura period, and have since grown in number until today, they nearly fill the shrine precincts. During the Edo period (1603–1868), shrines and temples throughout Japan followed Kasuga Taisha’s lead and started placing stone lanterns along their sandō.

The oaimichi is thought to be the first shrine path in the country to be lined with stone lanterns.

The stone lanterns on the oaimichi are distinctive for their wooden, cube-shaped fire boxes. In autumn 2022, the firebox of one lantern dating from the Warring States period (1467–1568) was painted in black lacquer, restoring it to its original appearance.

A majority of the some 2,000 stone lanterns on the shrine grounds bear the name “Kasugasha” (Kasuga Shrine), but 15 or so carry a different designation, “Kasuga Daimyōjin.” It is said that anyone who can find three of these rare lanterns in a single night will be blessed with wealth.

One of a handful of stone lanterns carved with the name Kasuga Daimyōjin. The four primary divine beings of Kasuga Taisha are often grouped together as a syncretic, combined deity known as Kasuga Daimyōjin.

Prayers Through the Ages

People continue to donate hanging lanterns for the corridors of the Ōmiya even now. There are approximately 1,000 such lanterns throughout the shrine precincts, the oldest of which date to the Heian period. Lanterns donated by such notable figures as fifth Tokugawa shōgun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi (1646–1709), the daimyo of Tsu province (modern day Mie Prefecture) Tōdō Takatora (1556–1630), and warrior Naoe Kanetsugu (1560–1619) are still lit twice yearly.

Lanterns hang along the east corridor.

The lantern second from left was donated by shōgun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi and the next two by daimyō Tōdō Takatora.

Until the Edo period, the shrine’s lanterns were lit every night. Today, they are lit only twice a year, for the Setsubun Mantōrō in early February and the Chūgen Mantōrō on August 14–15. Countless flames flickering through the dark woods on these occasions lend a solemn air to the sacred approach and corridors of the shrine.

The shrine is enveloped in a phantasmagorical atmosphere during Mantōrō. (© Matsui Yoshihiro)

Visitors can get a taste of the Mantōrō year-round in the Fujinami-no-ya Hall inside the Ōmiya. This Edo-period structure, originally built as a waiting post for shrine priests, contains over 100 lanterns that are lit daily, creating a timeless atmosphere.

The Fujinami-no-ya Hall Mantōrō is a world of quiet beauty.

It is not unusual to encounter one or more of the shrine’s sacred deer when approaching along the stone lantern-lined sandō. It is moving to think that the nobles and warriors who have visited the Kasuga Taisha over the centuries may have had similar encounters. It is a reminder that the deer have been a constant, soothing presence throughout the ages, bringing smiles to patrons whenever they appear.

Moss-covered stone lanterns stand along the approach to the shrine. Deer can often be seen peeking out from the surrounding scenery.

Kasuga Taisha

• Address: 160 Kasuganochō, Nara, Nara Prefecture
• Hours: Honden (main hall), March to October, 6:30 am to 5:30 pm; November to February, 7:00 am to 5:00 pm
• No charge for entering the shrine precincts; special worship at the honden (9:00 am–4:00 pm) ¥500
• Getting there: From JR Nara Station and Kintetsu Nara Station, take a Nara Kōtsu bus bound for Kasuga Taisha Honden

(Originally published in Japanese. Reporting and text by Nippon.com and EditZ. All photos © EditZ unless otherwise noted.)