File photo: People walk at the main entrance of the Meiji Shrine as they go to pray for the New Year at the Shrine on Jan. 1, 2024 in Tokyo, Japan.

Jan. 7 (UPI) -- A formal ceremony heralded the start of the Japan's sumo wrestling season at the Meiji Jingu shrine on Tuesday, two months after a U.S. man was arrested for desecrating it.

Steve Lee Hayes, 65, allegedly carved the initials of his family members. People walk past a Torii gate at Meiji shrine in Tokyo on November 14, 2024. Photo by Yuichi Yamazaki/AFP via Getty Images ...

Hayes, a U.S. citizen, had “carved alphabet letters onto a pillar of a gate of a shrine” in the Shibuya ward of Tokyo on Tuesday, police said. It's not clear what state Hayes is from.

Scratches are seen on a Torii gate at Meiji shrine in Tokyo on November 14, 2024. A 65-year-old American tourist was arrested for allegedly etching letters onto a traditional wooden gate at a ...

The complex was destroyed during World War II but rebuilt in the 1950s. A closeup image of scratches on a torii gate at Meiji Shrine, taken on November 14, 2024.

According to public broadcaster NHK, five letters – believed to be the tourist’s family name – were allegedly etched into a gate pillar at Tokyo’s Meiji Shrine.

The complex was destroyed during World War II but rebuilt in the 1950s. A closeup image of scratches on a torii gate at Meiji Shrine, taken on November 14, 2024. - Yuichi Yamazaki/AFP/Getty Images ...