KYOTO (TR) – Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine, located in Kyoto City’s Fushimi Ward, is famous for its mystical entrance of bamboo trees.
Known as the “Senbon Torii,” it is a tunnel-like formation of gates. It’s a popular hiking spot that’s always bustling with popular with both domestic and international tourists. However, a serious problem is currently occurring: persons are vandalizing the bamboo with grafitti, reports Nippon News Network (Jan. 8).
The graffiti is often lettering, kanji characters and numbers that appear to have been carved with sharp, hard objects. Once damaged, bamboo will not regenerate on its own. As a result, the city decided to cut down some of the trees due to the risk of collapse.
Fushimi’s bamboo grove is privately owned, and its owner is outraged.
According to Akira Nakamura, the 79-year-old owner of the bamboo grove, at least 100 trees have been damaged. “I never thought there’d be this many. It’s a real problem, a moral issue,” says Nakamura.
Although a fence has been installed around the bamboo grove, some of the culprits climbed over the partition.
“Engraved in our hearts”
Much of the mountainous land surrounding Fushimi Inari Shrine is privately owned, making it difficult to uniformly implement measures, including repairs and signage installation.
Nakamura goes on, “Sometimes people enter and write graffiti. I wish they’d stop doing that.”
It is not just in Fushimi. Approximately 350 bamboo trees were damaged in a similar manner along a bamboo grove path in Arashiyama.
“I want memories to be engraved in our hearts, not in the bamboo,” Nakamura says.
