KYOTO -- More than 100 bamboo trees along a walkway near a well-known bamboo grove path, a tourist site in the Arashiyama district of Kyoto, were found to have been defaced with carvings, the Kyoto city government said.
Dates and names, among other things, have been carved into the trees with what seem to be sharp-edged tools, mostly in foreign languages including English, Chinese and Korean. The carvings include a message in Chinese that reads, "I've come all the way here."
The city government suspects the carvings were made mainly by foreign tourists and intends to warn people against defacing the trees.
Located north of the famous bamboo grove path, the walkway is the city's property. In 2015, the city government built the walkway as part of a Historical Climate Special Conservation District designated under the Ancient Capital Cities Preservation Law.
According to the city government and other sources, such vandalism has increased since about February this year, and the city confirmed the trees had been damaged in late April after reports from a company it entrusted to manage the walkway. The company has put up notices in three languages banning carving and graffiti.
If damaged bamboo trees remain, their neighboring trees -- which are connected by the roots -- could rot, so the damaged trees need to be cut down soon, according to the company.
A city government official said: "The landscape will be undermined. We want to consider an effective way to raise awareness."
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