Japanese Bamboo Grove Becomes a Graffiti Spot for Foreign Tourists

February 5, Asahi Shimbun report: After the bamboo trees on both sides of the famous bamboo grove in Arashiyama, Kyoto were heavily defaced by tourists, the bamboo groves around Fushimi Inari Taisha (Fushimi Ward, Kyoto City) also faced graffiti problems, as this area is a popular tourist destination.

Starting from the famous 1,000 Torii Gates, the entrance to the bamboo grove is near Fushimi Inari Shrine. The bamboo grove is part of the "Kyoto Ring Road" hiking route, extending along a road named "Take no Kaminaga." The bamboo grove is private property owned by farmers.

When the reporter was on site, he found that there was a fence between the road and the bamboo grove, but many bamboo trees within reach had carvings and graffiti. The graffiti mostly consisted of initials and letters that looked like names, as well as heart symbols and Chinese characters.

According to Fushimi Inari Shrine, graffiti started to appear after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last autumn, about 350 out of approximately 7,000 bamboo paths in Arashiyama were found to have graffiti carved with knives or keys. The local government cut down the publicly owned bamboo trees that were defaced. The local authorities have long urged tourists to maintain good public morals and stated that "damaging bamboo constitutes a criminal offense (property damage)."

For foreign tourists visiting Japan, the Japan Tourism Agency has increased its promotional efforts through more than 30 overseas offices. Graffiti on bamboo can result in a maximum of three years in prison or a fine of up to 300,000 yen.

During the interview, the reporter met a female tourist from the United States who tried to carve her name on a bamboo tree using a metal pendant on her chest. When the reporter stopped her, the tourist said, "Oh, why?" and pointed at the bamboo covered with carvings, saying, "There are carvings everywhere."

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1856341550404804/

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