Japanese Senninbari Thousand Stitch Belt.
The "Thousand Stitch Belt" or senninbari is a strip of plain white cloth that has been embroidered with exactly 1000 stitches and the entire belt is handmade. These were given to Japanese servicemen as tokens when they got ready to depart for the frontline. These senninbari were most commonly worn the same way one would wear a sash but instead of on top of the uniform, it was placed underneath. However, they could also be used as undergarments, headbands or caps.
These senninbari originated in the 1890s during the first Sino-Japanese War. Each stitch was a wish for good fortune and sought to imbue the wearer with courage and immunity from harm. They were often made by a serviceman's mother; wife or sisters who would then solicit additional stitches from female worshipers at a Shinto temple.
The stitches would often form the Japanese characters bu-un cho-kyu or "Eternal Good Luck in War". Also popular were auspicious animals such as the tiger, which is thought of as being an animal that could freely roam and return safely home.
More common, as in this example, were multiple rows of stitches that would form flags, patriotic slogans and patterns.
Senninbari were featured in the 2006 film Letters from Iwo Jima however little is known about the history of this particular senninbari other than it was acquired as a GI bringback.
Sources:
ExordioLa Segunda Guerra Mundial (1939-1945), Rokubetsu Rikusentai - Fuerzas Navales Especiales de Desembarco, 29 August 2012, from:
http://whttp://www.exordio.com/1939-1945/militaris/fuerzas-armadas-JAP/tokubetsu-rikusentai.html
Imperial Japanese Navy, Wikipedia, 29 August 2012, from: http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Japanese_Navy
Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection
