Shimenawa

Shimenawa or shimekazari -- the straw ropes which have been sacred symbols of Shinto from the mythical age -- are festooned along the faþades of the dwellings, and so inter-joined that you see to right or left what seems but a single mile-long shimenawa, with its straw pendents and white fluttering paper gohei, extending along either side of the street as far as the eye can reach.

Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan Second Series Lafcadio Hearn 1877