Photo/Illutration A car driving in reverse crashed through the door of the “tosu” toilet facility on the grounds of Tofukuji temple in Kyoto’s Higashiyama Ward. Part of the image has been modified to protect the owner's privacy. (Provided by Kyoto Prefectural Board of Education)

KYOTO--A worker at an organization for preserving cultural property accidentally crashed his car on Oct. 17 into "Japan’s oldest existing toilet," breaking down the door and stopping inside. 

The wooden building, called “tosu,” located at Tofukuji temple in Kyoto’s Higashiyama Ward, is designated by the central government as an important cultural property.

The accident occurred when the 30-year-old man started his car, which was parked with its rear to the door, and hit the accelerator without noticing that the gear was in reverse.

The car sailed backward and smashed through the door to the facility at around 9:30 a.m.

“I crashed into the building,” the man said when he called police.

The crash broke down the wooden entrance door, which measures about 2.4 meters long and 2.8 meters wide, according to the Higashiyama Police Station of the Kyoto prefectural police.

But the ancient latrines were undisturbed and the entrance can be repaired.

“We are relieved that the damage is repairable,” said Keishu Nagai, head of the temple's treasure house management office. “We’d like to somehow restore it to its original state.”

The toilet, which was built in the first half of the Muromachi Period (1336-1573), is the oldest remaining latrine at a Zen Buddhist temple in Japan.

The tosu is nicknamed the “hyakusecchin” (hundred-person toilet) because it was used by more than 100 trainee monks at the temple, according to Kyoto Prefecture's cultural properties protection division.

About 20 holes roughly 30 centimeters deep line both sides of the privy. Religious officials believe they were used up until the beginning of the Meiji Era (1868-1912).

(This article was written by Yoshiki Yashiro and Suzuka Tominaga.)

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