On display: Oldest hair found in Yoshinogari (Saga Prefecture) dates from Yayoi period
- Oct 29, 2009
- 1 min read
Handle with care: This tuft of hair discovered in an ancient tomb in Yoshinogari, Saga Prefecture, is believed to be the oldest ever found in Japan and part of the "mizura" hairdo, shown in the illustration. KYODO PHOTO
SAGA (Kyodo) What is believed to be the oldest hair ever discovered in Japan has been put on display in an exhibition in Saga Prefecture until Nov. 23.
The tuft, discovered in 1968 in an ancient tomb in Yoshinogari, Saga Prefecture, is believed to be that of a man who lived in the Yayoi Period around the late first century.
According to Chuhei Takashima, president of Saga Women’s Junior College, the hair is part of an ancient hairdo called “mizura,” a bunch of hair that is wrapped round and hangs beside the ears.
The hair is so fragile that it had never been put on display for public viewing.
“Yoshinogari is one of the candidate places that may have been the land of (the) Yamataikoku (kingdom). We hope many people will become interested,” Takashima said.
Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009 Source: Japan Times
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