Japanese WWII 1000 Stitch Belt- Japanese Belt of 1000 Stitches-This is made of a cotton material. The white fabric is folded over to create the belt or sash. There is some discoloration and age toning, but overall, it’s still in very good condition.
The handiwork put into these belts that display the sentiments of the women who made them is remarkable. A Senninbari (千人針 thousand-person-stitches) or One-thousand stitch belt is traditionally made by a wife, who gathers 1000 women together and each woman put a French knot or a stitch on a belt that may measure 75 inches or more in length. There may be sentiments written inside the belts, that is why you sometimes see the ink staining coming through the cloth.
Each end of the belt (sash) may or may not have strings, snaps or buttons that allow it to be fastened about the waist. These Senninbari were given as an amulet by women to soldiers on their way to war as a part of the Shinto culture of Imperial Japan.
We have not unfolded this example since it is still stitched closed in some places, but when folded as a belt it measures approx. 52 inches (4 ½ ft) in length (1.3M). There is a white cotton tie on the end that both measure 14 inches (35cm). So, the overall length of this sash is well over 6 ft or 1.82M. The belt measures approx. 6 inches (15cm) in width. Regardless of how it was worn or kept, the sentiments for a safe return from the war are imbued into this keepsake. This is a gorgeous belt and is in good condition.