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.