Japanese officials are trying to verify if a potentially years-old spray-painted image of a rat discovered in Tokyo is the work of British street artist Banksy.
The drawing bears a strong resemblance to Banksy’s trademark rodent, which features in several of his previous works, including a series of stencils in Melbourne called Parachuting Rat.
The Tokyo rat, which is holding an umbrella, was sprayed on a tide gate at Hinode Station on the Yurikamome train line in the centre of the city, the BBC reports.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Officials say they had been aware of the graffiti for a long time, but did not realise they were looking a potential Banksy until December, when local residents contacted them to point out the similarity, according to The Japan Times.
“There are photos on social media that appear to show the same painting which date back several years,” the newspaper says.
Tokyo Metropolitan government official Koji Sugiyama told CNN that the stencil had not been erased by city authorities because it “didn’t stand out”.
Banksy’s work, which often satirises authority figures and current affairs, frequently sells for millions.
Sugiyama said local government officials are attempting to confirm whether the rat image is the work of the mysterious British artist, but add that they “don’t know if there’s an expert in Japan” qualified to give that verdict.
The gate, designed to protect the station from floods during high tides, has now been removed and put in storage to prevent any damage.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike posted photos of herself with the painting on Twitter, writing: “There’s a painting of cute rat in Tokyo which could be Banksy’s work! A gift to Tokyo?”
Last month, Banksy confirmed he was behind a mural in Port Talbot, Wales. That image, showing a child playing in the embers of a skip fire, “seems to comment on the town’s industrial heritage” and appeared on two walls of a garage overnight, the London Evening Standard reports.
-
Film reviews: ‘Wuthering Heights,’ ‘Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die,’ and ‘Sirat’Feature An inconvenient love torments a would-be couple, a gonzo time traveler seeks to save humanity from AI, and a father’s desperate search goes deeply sideways
-
Political cartoons for February 16Cartoons Monday’s political cartoons include President's Day, a valentine from the Epstein files, and more
-
Regent Hong Kong: a tranquil haven with a prime waterfront spotThe Week Recommends The trendy hotel recently underwent an extensive two-year revamp
-
Epstein files topple law CEO, roil UK governmentSpeed Read Peter Mandelson, Britain’s former ambassador to the US, is caught up in the scandal
-
Iran and US prepare to meet after skirmishesSpeed Read The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
