Part of the vast Nara Park belongs to the precincts of Kasuga Taisha Shrine. The shrine’s god, Takemikazuchi, is said to have come from Kashima Shrine (Ibaraki Prefecture) on a deer. Deer as a divine messenger, accordingly, have received careful protective measures in Nara. Even today, deer in Nara are carefully protected as natural monuments to allow many of them to live freely in Nara Park. This painting features such deer in Nara, depicted by Kondō Nobuto, against the backdrop of Nigatsudō Hall in the Tōdaiji Temple. The 2 deer, perhaps a husband and wife, cuddle in a friendly manner. This is a rare depiction of animals by Kondō Nobuto, who specializes in landscape painting. The depiction, however, shows no sense of discomfort in the landscape, communicating a sense of his painting’s breadth.