Messages written in graffiti have been found on one of the pillars at Todaimon, a building and designated national treasure at Horyuji Temple in Nara Prefecture, police said.
The messages, including one that said "I love everybody" in Japanese, are thought to have been scratched into the pillar with a stone or something similarly hard.
The pillar is 1.25 meters in diameter. The messages appear in an area between 42 cm and 99 cm from the ground and are about 8 cm across.