What does the kanji 麻, pictured here, stand for? All characters in kanji (one of the three Japanese scripts) express one or more concepts. The specific meaning of the character depends on how it is pronounced.

If pronounced asa (ah-sah), it refers to the cannabis plant. For thousands of years, hemp has been used in Japan as a raw material for textiles, food and medicine. If pronounced nusa (new-saw), it denotes items made with hemp fibres. Such items are described in ancient texts on Shinto and used by Shinshoku (people who serve at a Shinto shrine) in rituals.