To protect the sacred deer of Nara, a local entrepreneur has created a better alternative to plastic shopping bags.
Hidetoshi Mattsukawa works as a souvenir wholesaler for Nara-ism. He told CNN that he heard last summer that deer roaming the city's parks were dying from plastic bags.
He said, "I wanted do something to protect deer, which are the symbols of Nara."
Around 1,000 sacred deer live in the city, which is officially recognized as a national treasure in Japan. Many tourists give them treats.
A local welfare group reported that nine deer were found dead with plastic bags in their stomachs in July 2019. They asked for people to stop throwing away plastic bags at the park.
Matsukawa was determined to find a solution and joined forces with local paper manufacturers and design firms to tackle the project.
They created "Shikagami," which is deer paper made from rice bran, and milk cartons.
Matsukawa stated, "We discovered that rice bran is largely wasted in the process for rice polishing." "So this paper also helps to reduce that waste."
Matsukawa tested the bags and declared that they are safe for human consumption.
He laughed and said that although we don't have enough data to prove that the paper isn't harmful to deers or other animals, he believes it is safe for humans as well.
Since then, the bags have been tested at Nara's Todaiji temple and local banks. As part of the pilot project, the banks and temple purchased 4,000 to 5,000 bags for 100 yen (around 9 cents each).
According to Matsukawa who hopes to replace plastic bags in the city, the price of the bags will drop if more companies sign up to use them.
He said that the news about deer deaths by plastic bags created a negative image as though the park were a cemetery for them. "Paper bags can protect deer and the brand image of Nara as a deer-loving woman."
Nara, which is only 45 minutes away from Kyoto by train and is very popular with Japanese tourists.
