NARA, Japan - A traditional event of cutting the antlers of deer, a custom passed down for over 370 years since the Edo period, was held Saturday in western Japan's Nara Park.
In the annual ceremony running through Sunday at Kasugataisha Shrine inside the park, catchers used red flags to corner a buck, capture it with ropes and sawed off its antlers.
According to the Nara Deer Preservation Foundation, the event was originally aimed at preventing deer from injuring people and other deer during the fall mating season, when bucks become aggressive.
Kazuto Hotta, 10, who visited the park with his family from Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, said, "The deer were cute. I thought they were incredibly fast. I'd like to see it again."
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