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Masao Koto (F) and his wife Masako place kimono fabric on the snow for cleaning in the mountain village of Shiozawa, Niigata prefecture, Japan, 19 February 2016. Koto is considered the last expert on the yuki-zarashi technique of cleaning kimono fabric in snow, which is a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. One of the three finest kimono textile villages in Japan, Shiozawa has a more than 1,200 year tradition of cleaning kimono fabric by placing it on snow, in what is called the Yuki-zarashi process. The 14 meter lengths of hand woven hemp fabric are layed on the snow and through the interaction of sunlight and snow the fabric becomes whiter and impurities are removed. (Photo by Everett Kennedy Brown/EPA)
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