Ancient Japanese Temple Built 1,200 Years Ago Vandalized by Teen Tourist

An eighth century temple in Japan has been vandalized by a Canadian teen tourist, according to local police.

The monument in question is the Toshodaiji Temple, located in the city of Nara, which lies in the south of Japan's main island Honshu. The ancient Buddhist temple complex forms part of a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site known as the Monuments of Ancient Nara, which are all located in the modern city.

The UNESCO site comprises eight components: five Buddhist temple complexes, including Toshodaiji; the Nara Palace archaeological site; a Shinto shrine and the Kasugayama Primeval Forest. These ancient sites shed light on a critical period in the cultural and political development of Japan, when Nara served as the capital from 710-784, according to UNESCO.

"During this period the framework of national government was consolidated and Nara enjoyed great prosperity, emerging as the fountainhead of Japanese culture," the UNESCO description of the heritage site reads.

With regards to the latest incident at the Toshodaiji Temple complex, a popular tourist destination, police said on Friday that a 17-year-old boy who was visiting the site carved letters into a wooden pillar with his fingernail, Japanese daily newspaper Mainichi Shimbun reported.

The pillar forms part of the temple's "Golden Hall," which is considered a classic example of early Japanese Buddhist architecture and has been designated a national treasure. The pillars support the roof of the building.

The boy allegedly carved the word "Julian" into the pillar at a height of more than 5 feet above the ground. A Japanese tourist who was also visiting the site at the time saw the boy vandalizing the pillar and alerted temple staff. The teen was later questioned on suspicion of violating Japan's Law for Protection of Cultural Properties.

"The boy admitted his act and says it was done not with the intent of harming Japanese culture," a police official told CNN. "He is now with his parents, who were with him when the incident occurred."

A monk at the temple told Mainichi Shimbun: "We are worried that the same thing could happen again. Even though it may have been done without malice, it is still regrettable and sad."

In 2015, several Japanese temples and shrines in six prefectures—including Nara—experienced vandalism in a spate of similar incidents, according to Mainichi Shimbun. In many cases, the targets were UNESCO World Heritage Sites and national treasures. Buildings at the sites affected were found to have been splattered with an oil-like liquid.

Newsweek has contacted Toshodaiji Temple for comment via email.