Car Crashes into Japan's Oldest Toilet

Kyoto, Oct. 17 (Jiji Press)--Japan's oldest existing toilet in the western city of Kyoto was damaged by a car that crashed into the building Monday morning.

A 30-year-old worker at the Kyoto Heritage Preservation Association who was driving the car hit the accelerator while in reverse gear, causing it to smash through the doors of the "tosu" toilet located at the Tofuku-ji Buddhist temple before stopping inside the building, according to Kyoto prefectural police and others.

The doors and walls of the facility, designated an important cultural asset by the Japanese government, were damaged in the incident. No one was hurt.

A wooden building from the Muromachi era, which was between the 14th and 16th centuries, the tosu was used by trainee monks. The building is usually not open to the public.

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[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]