Japanese cypress bark is used for the roofs of temples and shrines. It is generally said that the roofs made of cypress bark should be replaced every 20 years.
Only 15,000 square meters of this material is available throughout Japan every year, and the number of �gMotokawa-shi,�hor experts who can take the bark off the Japanese cypress tree, is only 10 now.
Because of these reasons, it costs as much as 200,000 yen ( or $1,700 ) per square meter. Consequently, if \1,000 bills were used instead of Japanese cypress bark, it would be a whole lot cheaper.