Practice is believed to purify the spirit

A 23-year-old undertaker won a contest at Japan’s biggest funeral expo 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”.

Japan’s ageing society has increased demand for undertakers with special skills, said Kimura Kouki, head of the Okuribito Academy.

“There are about 2,000 undertakers whose expertise is in dressing the deceased, but their skills vary a lot,” he said.

“I wanted this competition to be a way to spur undertakers to improve their skills.”

The contestants, who dressed live volunteers, were judged on the grace of their movements and their ability to dress the body without revealing too much bare skin.