A successful mummification took upwards of ten years.
His only connection to the outside world was an air tube and a bell.
Each day he rang a bell to let those outside know that he was still alive.
When the bell stopped ringing, the tube was removed and the tomb sealed.
Usually, though, there was just a decomposed body.
The mummies also possess the accessories they had prior to death.
However, their eyes have been removed.
The practice is now outlawed by the government of Japan and not practiced today by any Buddhist sect.
