Canadian teen caught scribbling at Japan's Toshodaiji Kondo temple. Here's what happens next
A Canadian teenager was caught carving the pillar of the centuries-old Toshodaiji Kondo temple in Japan and was later questioned by the police on the matter. The 17-year-old was spotted by a tourist carving ‘Julian’ on a pillar at the temple with his fingernail, said Japanese police, reported BBC. After spotting the boy carving at the pillar, the tourists alerted the temple staff, who later enquired about the teenager.
The incident occurred on July 7. Later, the boy was questioned on suspicion of violating the cultural property protection law. The boy said that his intention was not to harm the cultural property.
He is now with his parents who were with him at the time of the vandalism, reported BBC with inputs from CNN. The carving was made on the pillar of the temple's ‘Golden Hall’, which is designated as national treasure, told police. Event though the act was not intended to harm the culture or damage the cultural property, ‘it is still regrettable and sad’ a monk told the Mainichi, as per BBC report.
Japan's century-old monuments, which also include Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines are a rich source of vivid pictures of life in the Japanese capital in the eighth century. The period is known for vase politial and cultural change. Nara is located around 45 km south of Kyoto and was once the capital of Japan.
It is still a popular tourist site. In Japan, if a person is proved of damaging an object of “important cultural property", he could end up facing up to five years of prison, or a fine of ¥300,000 ($2,120; £1,650). The incident in Nara was reported days after a man from UK was found carving a message into a wall at Rome's ancient Collosseum.
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