When it comes to anime pilgrimage sites, Washinomiya Shrine is one of the most popular and iconic. The hit comedy anime, Lucky Star, catapulted the shrine into popularity, with anime pilgrims visiting the shrine yearly. However, its Torii gate, an icon within itself, collapsed last Sunday. It even crushed the trunk of a car as it did.

image via @niyota84

The gate itself is quite old, and has suffered much rain damage through the years, even if it had some rainproofing. They said that the wooden beams have already rotted, causing the collapse. Luckily, nobody was hurt, though the car’s driver suffered from shock. Here’s what it looked like previously:

image via @niyota84

If that torii gate looks familiar, that’s because the Lucky Star anime featured it plenty of times. In fact, the Hiiragi twins worked at the shrine as miko for the TV anime.  Because of this, thousands of anime pilgrims visit the shrine every year.

source: Asahi Shimbun