170201-0039 - Rope of Human Hair

Two Japanese girls and their charges behind a huge coiled rope, made from human hair, at Higashi Honganji Temple in Kyoto.

During the reconstruction of the temple in 1895 (Meiji 28), there was no rope strong enough to hoist the temple’s massive wooden beams.

In response, female devotees cut off their hair and braided it into strong and thick ropes.

To this day, the rope is still on display, albeit now in a glass case.