The artifact of the month for March is the Hyakunin Isshu Special Selection / no.1215 set of Karuta handcrafted by Satoshi Tamura from the Tamura Shogundo studio in Kyoto, Japan. 

Satoshi Tamura and the Karuta Studio, Tamura Shogundo 

This month's feature is a Chinese joss paper (also known as spirit paper or ghost paper) robe and pants. In our collection this pair of objects share the number 1993.006.728.  

These articles of paper clothing were never meant to be worn by the living. For almost 2000 years, Chinese mourners have been making joss paper objects for the dead. These objects are usually burned in ceremonies after the funeral but are sometimes buried with the deceased. It is believed that the joss paper items will become their real equivalents in the afterlife.