Photo/Illutration City government staff check bamboo stalks within tourists’ reach on the Chikurin no Komichi bamboo grove trail in Arashiyama district in Kyoto on Nov. 6. (Yoshiaki Arai)

KYOTO—The city government here is experimenting with how to stop tourists from carving graffiti into the Chikurin no Komichi bamboo grove by cutting it out of reach.

The plan is to trim back both defaced and normal stalks along the Arashiyama district's trail that sit behind a bamboo fence. Officials are considering expanding how much is cut back in the future while still preserving the scenery.

The city government as well as local Arashiyama preservation organizations agreed to the plan during a meeting on the evening of Nov. 5.

Government staff visited the city-owned stretch at the trail's entrance on Nov. 6 to decide which stalks to trim. Twenty-two stalks were chosen in the 30-meter-long area that sits a meter wide. Four of them had graffiti.

The work will be done by a local rickshaw company and Kyoto Hatsu Take Ryuiki Kankyo Net (Kyoto bamboo and surrounding environment network), a local nonprofit organization themed around abandoned forestry issues.

During the meeting, local residents voiced their opinions. Statements included observations such as, “If we leave the graffiti, copycat offenders will increase. We want the city to make a thorough effort to promote good manners among tourists.”

Another suggested legal consequences, saying, “Is it possible to take a strong stance that graffiti is a crime, like Singapore?”

The Chikurin no Komichi bamboo grove trail and the surrounding area is part of the "Ogurayama Special Conservation Area for Historical Landscapes" designated under the ancient capitals preservation law.

“We want to protect the precious scenery and atmosphere unique to the Arashiyama district,” said Misao Hashimoto, manager of the Kyoto government's scenic conservation division.

According to the city government and other sources, graffiti cases have rapidly increased since this spring.

A city investigation in October spanning the area it owns revealed about 350 marked stalks. Most of the graffiti was in Roman letters with a smattering of Japanese and Chinese characters as well as Hangul.

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