Japanese Belt of 1000 Stitches- These are just the coolest collectible, and 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, and she gathers 1000 women together and each woman put a French knot on the strip of cloth that traditionally measures approximately 15 cm (6 in) high and up to 90–120 cm (3–4 ft) or more in length.
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 3ft in length, with each tie on the end measuring 12 inches. So, the overall length is 5 ft. it measures the 6” in width.
You can see and feel the knots inside, and if you look into the unstitched portion of the belt, you can see them. We counted the knots inside, and there are 500 knots on one-fold, and then another 500 on the second fold for a total of 1,000 red knots. Each of these are sewn inside an orange dot.
On the outside of the belt is written the usual Kanji as seen on a “Good Luck” flag. We believe this to be a belt, or possibly a sash. Unfortunately, the intended use is not clear, so it’s possible it was folded up and kept with the soldier as a good luck charm. Regardless of how it was worn or kept, the sentiments for a safe return from the war are imbued into this keepsake. The name that is written on this belt is "Yamanakaro".