The title of this photo means "what is this rope?"  I suppose it is meant to imply that the rope goes all the way to heaven.  Visitors to this shrine would say a prayer, leave a gift of cash, and shake the rope to get the attention of someone up there.

I have always been skeptical about this image, but my artistic friends all seem to like it.  Taken with the Olympus C-3000 at Kiyomizu Dera in Kyoto in 2000.