Nara Park Japan-1953: American Soldier Hand-Feeds an Antlered Deer and Grins at the Camera

Catalog date: estimated · Catalog location: estimated. Review source evidence · Request a source quality check

$149 · Editorial onlyDirect license: editorial use only. $149 flat from Stockfilm for documentary, news and educational use, plus internal and organic social use. Not permitted in advertising, sponsored or branded content, broadcast promotion or any paid commercial placement.

Year1953
Decade1950s
LocationNara Park, Nara, Japan
Duration2s
Price$149 USD
Collection1953 · Nara Park, Nara, Japan
StatusStockfilm Exclusive

$149 · Editorial onlyDirect license: editorial use only

$149 USD flat · royalty-free worldwide · 4K restored master (MP4)

Before you add to cart: Editorial use only: documentary, news, educational, internal and organic social use. Not permitted in advertising, sponsored or branded content, broadcast promotion or any paid commercial placement. Checkout will only offer editorial, educational, internal and social/web scopes.

Need 10+ clips? Send your brief and get a curated shortlist →

Stockfilm licenses the rights identified in the applicable agreement. Additional use-specific review may be required. See the Licensing Guide and Archive Integrity.

From the same film reel

1953 · South Korea & Japan · Reel 98cbbda6 contains 6 published Stockfilm-exclusive clips. Watch them in reel order and review the available reel documentation.

Explore this year and place

Compare featured footage, popular clips and the full collection.

Same year and place1953 · Nara Park, Nara, JapanExplore footage →Across the archiveFilmed in 1953Explore the year →Across the yearsNara Park, Nara, JapanExplore the place →

What is in this clip

military leave
American servicemen abroad
human and animal interaction
sightseeing
postwar Japan
Korean War era
tourism

Shot type: medium
Camera: handheld · eye level
Setting: outdoor · Wooded park with tall tree trunks, a bare dirt clearing and patches of grass
Time and weather: day · overcast or shaded
Lighting: Soft, diffuse daylight under tree cover
People: 1 · An adult man in a US military khaki shirt, trousers and garrison cap with sleeve chevrons, bending to feed a deer and smiling at the camera.
Animals: sika deer stag · second deer partly in frame
Landmarks: Nara Park
Objects: khaki uniform · garrison cap · rank chevrons · food held in hand
Colors: blue-violet · khaki grey · dark brown · muted green
Master dimensions: 3840 × 2160
Audio: Silent
Date confidence: Low
Location confidence: High

Moments in the footage

Select a time to watch that moment in the preview.

A khaki-uniformed soldier bends over and an antlered stag eats from his hand.
He begins to lift his head toward the camera.
He grins straight at the camera while the stag keeps feeding.
Still smiling, he holds his palm steady at the animal's muzzle.

American Soldier Hand-Feeds an Antlered Deer and Grins... — Clip Details

Nara Park, Japan, circa 1953 home movie footage. An American serviceman in a khaki uniform and garrison cap bends forward under tall trees to hand-feed an antlered sika deer, holding more food in his other hand. Partway through the shot he lifts his head toward the camera and grins while the stag keeps eating from his palm. It is filmed as one continuous handheld medium shot on 8mm colour film with a strong blue-violet cast.

Licensing & Technical Details

Original Format: 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie
Resolution: 4K restored master (MP4)
License: Direct license: editorial use only Editorial use only: documentary, news, educational, internal and organic social use. Not permitted in advertising, sponsored or branded content, broadcast promotion or any paid commercial placement.
Delivery: Instant Digital Download
Duration: 2s
Price: $149 USD
Clip ID: 800000833

Rights & Clearance

$149 · Editorial only Direct license: editorial use only. Editorial use only: documentary, news, educational, internal and organic social use. Not permitted in advertising, sponsored or branded content, broadcast promotion or any paid commercial placement.

Editorial use only; commercial use is not offered for this clip. Review the flags below for your editorial context.

People visible: Yes
Minors visible: No
Logos / trademarks: No
Audible music: No

Flags come from automated catalog metadata, not a legal opinion. The source is an original 8mm / Super 8 Home Movie reel. For high-stakes commercial use, request a full rights review.

Source & Documentation

Source reel: Reel record not linked for this clip
Date: 1953 Estimated (Catalog estimate from the footage and file metadata; not independently confirmed.)
Date evidence: Catalog estimate based on source metadata and visual or technical evidence; no reel-level note is linked.
Location: Nara Park, Nara, Japan Estimated (Catalog estimate from the footage and file metadata; not independently confirmed.)
Location evidence: Catalog estimate based on source metadata and visual evidence such as signage, landmarks, or terrain; no reel-level note is linked.
Licensing route: Direct license available from Stockfilm

Confidence labels are defined on Archive Integrity. Fields without a recorded value are shown as not recorded rather than assumed.

Open Clip Documentation Record Request source information

Topics & Keywords

Archive Intelligence

Archive brief fit: Answers requests for authentic early-1950s footage of American soldiers on R&R leave in Japan, especially relaxed, personal moments for Korean War era documentaries and education programmes.
Period detail: The khaki shirt and trousers, garrison cap and sleeve chevrons, along with the faded blue-shifted colour film, point to the early 1950s.
Home-movie behavior: A buddy behind the camera catches the soldier mid-task, and he breaks off to grin at the lens, an unposed, friendly moment between servicemen on leave.
What appears in frame: A smiling soldier in khaki and a garrison cap, an antlered sika stag eating from his hand, food held in his other hand, dark tree trunks, a dirt clearing with grass, and part of a second deer.
Film character: Handheld 8mm colour with a strong blue-violet cast, soft focus and fine grain, giving the shot a period home-movie texture.
Edit role: Works as a short cutaway or memory beat inside an R&R or Japan-travel sequence, and the grin to camera gives a natural end point for a cut.
Historical context: Shows an American serviceman as a tourist at Nara's deer park, where sika deer are regarded as sacred messengers of Kasuga Taisha, during the Korean War era R&R period.
Research note: The soldier is identifiable and unnamed, so likeness and publicity use needs separate care from the film's copyright, and military insignia does not establish who he is.
Research search match: GI feeding deer Nara, American soldier R&R Japan 1950s, sika deer Nara Park 8mm, Korean War era home movie Japan, serviceman smiling at camera vintage colour film.
Archive pairing path: Pair first with this reel's sika deer herd at the shrine, the visitors in kimono and suit, the WELCOME ON R&R sign and soldiers leaving the USAF transport, then with other Nara circa 1953 material, then with GIs-abroad sightseeing clips.

Still Frames From This Clip

American GI in khaki bends to feed an antlered sika stag from his hand in Nara Park, Japan, circa 1953 — A serviceman on leave lets an antlered sika stag eat from his hand, Nara Park, circa 1953.
License this still · $49

Smiling GI looks up from feeding an antlered sika stag on 8mm colour film, Nara Park, Japan, circa 1953 — The soldier begins to look up toward the camera as the stag keeps feeding.
License this still · $49

American serviceman grins at the camera while a sika stag eats from his hand, Nara deer park, Japan, circa 1953 — A broad grin to camera as the stag feeds from the soldier's hand, Nara, circa 1953.
License this still · $49

Korean War era GI on R&R smiles while feeding an antlered sika stag in wooded Nara Park, Japan, circa 1953 — Still smiling, the GI keeps his palm at the stag's muzzle in the wooded deer park.
License this still · $49

Visually Similar Clips