Senninbari (Thousand Stitch Belt)????, No stiches but Kanji Help What is it, and What does it say??

[Nick Komiya]

I think the ladies from this organisation are portrayed wearing this sash in the movie "Letters from Iwo Jima" when they present the young soldier with his call up papers.

Not really. The ladies in the movie were actually from a rival organization, the Patriotic Women's Association. The ladies in the white smock/apron were an army backed group and more of a working class organization and focused on care and spiritual support of soldiers going to war and returning from war. They were the people who saw off soldiers at stations. The Patriotic Women's Association on the other hand charged much higher dues and was for the middle and upper class women, which became like a salon for the well-heeled. They were the women known for the little silver member badge featuring the anchor and star, which people always pick up, mistaking them for military. They contributed money and goods (comfort bags with senninbari, etc) rather than spiritual support.
Here are photos that well convey the distinctions between the two groups.

[MichaelB]

I just noticed that I mis-spoke in Post #15. I said that the senninbari mass produced by the Lady's Associations "...often lacked stitches". .....Well, I should have said, "....often lack tie strings". These senninbari are often seen as the long white strips of plain cotton cloth that contain "1000" individual red cotton knots or flat stitches, and lack tie strings. The ladies groups would often gather together in order to produce these in quantity. Once a panel was completed, it could be separated from the long strip, and given away in a comfort bag or elsewhere to the troops. These could be wrapped around the waist, and held in place by the standard issue belt or carried amongst one's gear, in a helmet, or in a pocket or pack. Remember too that the term "senninbari" and "1000 stitch belt" describes items that are senninbari of different physical types. Whatever the form, they generally served the same belief/function: the biggest one was usually to provide a compounding of good luck, and protection to the soldier/sailor/airman owner.
MichaelB

[Nick Komiya]

Here's a visual summary