Canadian teenager engraves his name on 1,200-year-old Japanese shrine

Posted On: August 23, 2023

KOMPAS.com – A Canadian teenager must be held accountable for his actions after acting in a 1,200-year-old ancient Japanese temple.

The teenager used nails to carve his name into the golden hall as he entered the Toshodaiji Kondo temple in Nara city, Japan on July 7, 2023.

The city of Nara is about 45 kilometers south of Kyoto, which was once the capital of Japan before moving to Tokyo. This city is popular with tourists.

The teenager engraved the name “Julian” and the initial “J” on a wooden pillar. Fortunately, the action was discovered by a Japanese tourist visiting this historical site.

The Toshodaiji Kondo Temple which was damaged by the teenager is a Buddhist temple established since the 8th century AD.

To the police, he admitted that he had no intention of damaging the world heritage site whose existence is maintained by UNESCO.

Responsible for the law on the protection of cultural property

Reported since Smithsonian Reviewpolice, who received a report that a teenager had carved his name on the Toshodaiji Kondo temple, questioned the attacker.

Local authorities questioned the teenager on suspicion of violating the law on the protection of cultural property.

By law, anyone who damages important cultural property can be sentenced to up to five years in prison.

It does not stop there: those who have damaged important cultural objects are also threatened with a fine of several hundred thousand dollars.

The act of a Canadian teenager has been criticized

After a Canadian teenager acted out at the Toshodaiji Kondo temple, he came under fire from multiple sides. One of them was from a monk who came from the Toshodaiji Kondo temple.

To Kyodo News Agency, the monk said he feared the same thing could happen again.

“Even though it could have been done without any malice, it is still regrettable and sad,” he said.

On the other hand, Remote Lands Executive Director Catherine Heald said the act of the Canadian Youth at the Toshodaiji Kondo Temple was a form of desecration.

“Defaming an important shrine or shrine is a whole different level of insult. It’s like writing immodest graffiti on a church,” he said.

teenage confession

After taking action, the Canadian teenager said he had no intention of damaging Japanese cultural heritage objects by carving his name on the Toshodaiji Kondo temple.

The teenager’s actions came after an act of vandalism was discovered at the Colosseum in Rome, Italy, when a tourist named Ivan Dimitrov engraved the names ‘Ivan+Hayley 23/6/2023’.

Reported since BBCDimitorc is threatened with a fine of up to 16,300 US dollars, or approximately 245 million rupees, and a five-year prison term for his actions.

He also apologized and said he did not know how old the Colosseum was at the time of his action.

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