These prayer beads (nenju) are made of crystal. The tassels and their string are later replacements. The Daranijikkyō, an important Buddhist scripture, expounds that gold, silver, red-bronze (shakudō, an amalgam of copper, gold and silver), and crystal are all appropriate materials for producing prayer beads. Crystal prayer beads from the Nara period (710–794) were preserved at the Shōsō-in, demonstrating that crystal has been favored as a material for prayer since the distant past in this country. 
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