Visiting Todai-ji that houses the Great Buddha of Nara during the New Year festivities, a group of Buddhist monks stop for a photograph in the gate on their way to the shrine. The leader of the group in the center had been walking impatiently toward the shrine, having to gesture repeatedly for the other monks to follow. They had stopped several times to take in the scenery, and to feed the deer. You can see a piece of deer biscuit lodged in the monk's thick wool scarf, second to the right. I suspect it might have become the subject of great amusement after looking at the photograph, taken by a woman who accompanied the group. Incidentally, the two monks on the right are looking into my camera, perhaps curious about the Western tourist taking their picture.

The high-ranking monk is walking with determination toward the gate and the road that leads to Todai-ji, and even the deer seems to sense that its usually aggressive begging is futile in this case.