Photo/Illutration Visitors snap photos of the rat graffiti Nov. 25 in the hope it is a genuine Banksy. The image is on show in Tokyo’s Minato Ward. (Hikari Maruyama)

Street graffiti, which may or may not be a Banksy, went on public display Nov. 25 at a passenger waiting room of Hinode Pier in Tokyo's Minato Ward.

The graffiti, found on a nearby tide barrier in the Tokyo Bay area late last year, was removed by the Tokyo metropolitan government.

It was kept in the storage after a brief public showing in light of speculation it might have been painted by the mysterious British street artist.

The graffiti depicts a rat holding an umbrella. But whether it is a genuine Banksy or the work of a copycat is anyone's guess.

Authorities accepted a request to “return” the graffiti to help revitalize the area’s economy.

When it was displayed at the Tokyo metropolitan government building from April to May, more than 35,000 people came by.

The Tokyo government said it will display the graffiti “for the time being.”

Twenty or so people were gathered in front of the work shortly after its 10 a.m. opening on Nov. 25.

A 67-year-old woman traveling with friends from Kagoshima Prefecture said: “Our hotel is located nearby, so we came together. Next year’s animal in the oriental zodiac is the rat, so I am happy to have seen it.”

Nursing school toddlers being taken for a walk also dropped by.

A neighborhood community association put in a request to the Tokyo metropolitan government last month “to return it to where it was found or to put it on display nearby.”

Kiyoshi Sakai, 71, who heads the association, said, “Even though it is graffiti, many people want to see it.”

According to Sakai, areas around Hinode Pier used to be prosperous because of job opportunities associated with Tokyo Bay, but changes in commodity distribution have taken their toll.

“The rat might have emerged from underground and opened the parasol to avoid the bright sunshine,” Sakai said. “I hope that the sun will shine on our neighborhood, too.”