Vandals Splash Paint on Gates of Kyoto's Sanjusangendo

September 24, 2007

Author: Yomiuri Shimbun

Source: The Buddhist Channel

http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=44,4956,0,0,1,0

Two gates of the renowned Sanjusangendo Buddhist hall in Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, were found Sunday morning to have been vandalized with gray paint, police said.

Higashiyama Police Station is investigating the case on suspicion of property destruction.

About 8 a.m., a temple employee noticed the paint splotches on the hall's Kitamon and Todaimon gates.

According to the police, a section about 1.5 meters by 1 meter on the Kitamon gate and one about 1.4 meters by 3 meters on the Todaimon gate were defaced with the paint, which seems to have been thrown from a container.

The Kitamon gate was built during the Edo period (1603-1867), while the Todaimon gate was built in 1961. They were repainted vermillion in spring last year.