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Visitor vandalism threatens Kyoto's iconic bamboo grove landscape

Published: 16 Oct. 2025, 12:07

Graffiti in Korean found in Kyoto's Arashiyama bamboo grove [ARASHIYAMA FACEBOOK, KYOTOPI, YONHAP]

Kyoto’s iconic bamboo grove in Arashiyama is being defaced by a surge of graffiti, local authorities say.

According to the Asahi Shimbun on Wednesday, Kyoto City inspected about 7,000 bamboo stalks on Oct. 6 and found that roughly 350 had been vandalized — carved with sharp objects such as knives or keys.

Graffiti in multiple languages, including Japanese, Korean, Chinese and English, was found on the bamboo. Some included names in hangul, the Korean alphabet, enclosed in hearts. Others noted the date of the visit.

Officials are considering cutting down heavily damaged bamboo. The Kyoto Botanical Gardens noted that once bamboo is scratched, it cannot recover.

In an effort to deter further damage, the city has wrapped some stalks in green tape. But the move has raised concerns that the tape may mar the scenic landscape.

“I hope visitors leave their memories in their hearts — not on the bamboo,” said Ishikawa Keisuke, head of the Arashiyama Shopping Street Association.

The vandalism has drawn criticism online in Korea, with comments such as “This is an embarrassment to our country,” “I’m ashamed as a fellow Korean,” and “Such behavior is disgraceful.”

This is not the first time the grove has suffered defacement. In 2018, around 100 stalks were similarly vandalized, prompting the city to post multilingual signs asking tourists not to leave graffiti.

The Arashiyama Bamboo Grove stretches through the northern edge of Tenryuji, a Unesco World Heritage site. It is a popular filming location — featured in the movie “Memoirs of a Geisha” — and draws crowds of tourists to walk among the densely packed bamboo.

BY JANG GU-SEUL [[email protected]]