KYOTO -- The remains of a centuries-old building on the grounds of a Kyoto temple known for its golden pavilion have been found to have been damaged, Kyoto Prefecture's board of education and the Kyoto municipal government said Tuesday.
Rokuonji temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site also popularly known as Kinkakuji, was itself responsible for the damage to the remains, which are believed to have been the foundation of a building, in the course of construction work that was carried out without permission from the authorities.
The temple said, "We apologize for doing the construction work without necessary permissions and digging in the remains."
According to the board of education and the city, the remains are believed to have been built during the Muromachi period (1336-1573) and are located inside a garden about 300 meters to the east of the golden pavilion, or Kinkaku. From 2013, the temple built a shop and rest facility with toilets just south of the remains. During plumbing work for the shop, the temple removed a portion of the remains about 1 meter long, about 40 centimeters wide and about 40 centimeters deep. When building the rest house, the temple piled stones on the remains as well.
The temple is required to obtain permission from the Cultural Affairs Agency when changing the status quo on its grounds, but the temple failed to register with the authorities before going ahead with the plumbing work and other work.
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