A 23-year-old undertaker won a contest at Japan’s biggest funeral expo on Thursday that tested ancient skills in the ritual dressing of the dead. “I practised every day to prepare for this competition, ” said a smiling Rino Terai after her win over…
A 23-year-old undertaker won a contest at Japan’s biggest funeral expo on Thursday that tested ancient skills in the ritual dressing of the dead.
“I practised every day to prepare for this competition, ” said a smiling Rino Terai after her win over three other finalists.
“I took videos and made improvements by asking myself, does this look beautiful? Am I treating the deceased kindly?”
Japan’s Shinto religion believes that the soul is impure shortly after death and the process of dressing a body – usually in front of close relatives only – purifies the deceased spirit before it is sent off to the “other world”.
