Graffiti were found at the ruins of Takamatsu Castle, designated as Japan’s national historic site.

S/ Reporter / This is the stone wall where graffiti were found. Characters that look like kanji were written here.

The stone wall is at the base of the castle tower.

On the affected stone, there appear to be kanji characters for “China” at the center and “Japan” and “like” in the upper left.

Officials of Takamatsu city’s cultural property division said the graffiti covered an area of about 20 centimeters tall and 15 centimeters wide on one of the stones.

The stone is located about 1.5 meters high on the first basement level of the castle foundation.

The officials said 11 characters were carved into the stone using a piece of rock, but their meaning is unknown.

A visitor discovered the graffiti on the morning of December 2 and reported it to staff at Tamamo Park.

After being notified by city officials, police are investigating the case on suspicion of property damage and violation of the cultural properties protection law.