Good Luck Belt-Not a Senninbari
I noted from an old post, that Alan M had a nice looking yellow senninbari with a stitched tiger on it. Yellow, and other belts of colored material are seen less frequently than the more standard senninbari that tend to be made from white material, and normally contain stitches or knots in red cotton thread. Sometimes haramaki simply lack stitches (hence they are not senninbari), even though a pre-printed pattern on it might indicate where a person should place the knots during fabrication. Other haramaki might be homemade and contain various personal artwork designs, written slogans, or pouches with various good luck amulets or mementos (coins, ofuda, etc), placed inside them.
Here is an example of a tiger good luck belt made from yellow silk that lacks the stitching. There are 4 red pre-printed characters displayed around the tiger that say, "May Your Military Fortunes Be Long Lasting". Sewn inside the belt is a small Buddhist prayer booklet with a large round red temple seal placed over it. The characters on the cover of the booklet appear to refer to the Myoho Renge Kyo Kanzeon Bosatsu Fumonbon On. Translated into English, this refers to, "The Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law: Chapter 25 the All-Sidedness of the Bodhisattva Regarder of the Cries of the World". This particular chapter is devoted to Avalokitasvara (which in Sanskrit means, "Lord Who Looks Down", and who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas), describing him as a compassionate Bodhisattva (enlightened being) who hears the cries of sentient/earthly beings, and who works tirelessly to help those who call upon his name. A portion of the first verse says, "The Bodhisattva 'Infinite-Thought' rose up from sitting, and baring his right shoulder, gassho'ed toward the Buddha saying: "World-honoured One! For what reason is the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara named 'Regarder-of-the-Cries-of-the-World'?"
MichaelB
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