Corpse-Dressing Competition

More than 25,000 people attended the Tokyo Int'l Funeral & Cemetery Show 2018 last weekend. It's an industry convention and exposition for funeral professionals across Japan. The expo included a competition between the top funeral dressers. In the Shinto religion, dressing the deceased is a ritual that cleanses them before they enter the afterlife. It's usually done by family members, but some 2,000 or so undertakers have become experts. The top four competed in front of convention attendees. The winner was 23-year-old RinoTerai, who said,

“I practiced every day to prepare for this competition,” said a smiling RinoTerai 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?”

(via Mental Floss)