Kasuga Taisha

Kasuga Taisha was founded in 768 as the tutelary shrine of the Fujiwara, and until 1863 it was rebuilt to the same design every twenty years in the way Ise still is. The approach is through Kasugayama Primeval Forest, where hunting and logging have been prohibited since 841 - a thousand-year exclusion that has left old-growth woodland on the hillside behind the shrine, now part of the UNESCO inscription for Nara. Along the paths and hung from the corridors are about three thousand lanterns, roughly two thousand stone ones on the approach and a thousand bronze ones under the eaves, all donated over the centuries by worshippers. They are lit twice a year, at the beginning of February and in the middle of August. A dark corridor inside the paid precinct keeps a room of lit lanterns with mirrors, which is a modern arrangement showing the effect year-round.

History

According to legend the shrine began in 768, when its first kami, Takemikazuchi, rode a white deer to the top of Mount Mikasa from the Kashima shrine to protect Nara, and the shrine of the Fujiwara family won imperial favour in the Nara period through their power and that of Empress Shōtoku; it has been rebuilt several times over the centuries. The style of its sanctuary gave its name to the Kasuga-zukuri form, and its torii is one of the oldest in Shinto. From 1871 to 1946 it ranked among the Kanpei-taisha, the first rank of government-supported shrines, and with the Kasugayama Primeval Forest it is part of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara World Heritage Site (Wikipedia, Kasuga-taisha).

Highlights

• Three thousand lanterns - stone along the paths and bronze under the eaves, all donated.
• A thousand-year forest - Kasugayama, protected from logging since 841.
• Vermilion halls - rebuilt every twenty years to the same design until 1863.
• The lantern room - a dark mirrored corridor showing the lit effect year-round.

When to go

Early February or mid-August for the lightings. Two hours.

Good to know

The lanterns are lit only twice a year - at other times they are unlit metal and stone. The inner precinct is charged and the main halls are seen from outside. Deer on the approach are habituated and can be pushy. Lantern festival evenings are extremely crowded.

Nearby

Todaiji is north-west across the park; Naramachi is south-west.

Key facts