Japanese Kamikaze Hachimaki headband

The original headband is in excellent condition. It is sewn from a light cotton fabric. Rare. Guarantee of authenticity.

Hachimaki (head bundle) — a white headband, symbolizing the Japanese's inflexibility of intentions and maintaining morale. It also has an immediate function — protecting the face from sweat. Usually, hachimaki is understood as a red or white strip of fabric about 5 centimeters wide and 120 long. Previously, hachimaki tied kamikaze, kaiten and other teishintai before the attack.

During the war, handing hachimaki to kamikaze pilots was part of the ritual of honoring suicides. On the eve of departure for the mission, they were treated to a festive dinner, and just before departure, the commander poured a ceremonial glass of sake and tied hachimaki. The bandage could be pure white or red, or with the application of the sun symbol with inspirational hieroglyphs written on it.

Strangely enough, the history of the hachimaki is very prosaic. The bandage was used by ancient tribes as a hair retention and protection from sweat, then it was noticed in the Middle Ages, then it was adopted by artisans of various countries. She was widely known among the Slavs, and then in Russia among carpenters, potters and other working people.

In Japan, according to legend, for the first time hachimaki put on the legendary forty-seven ronin in 1702 before attacking the house of the official Kire Kozuke no Suke in order to avenge the death of his lord daimyo Asano Takumi no Kami Naganori. The white armbands were worn by them in order to distinguish each other in a night attack. After that, hachimaki "became fashionable" among the samurai, who used it to attach straw hats or balaclavas when wearing armor.  Later, the samurai used the bandage for its intended purpose, as protection from sweat during long training sessions. It should be noted that in combat conditions, samurai hachimaki were never worn, because a sleeping blindfold is an imminent death. Imitating the samurai, it was adopted by kamikazes, giving it the imaginary features of an artifact, which was further enhanced with the help of hieroglyphs and the symbol of the empire — the image of the sun. And considering that the bulk of the kamikazes were 20-year-olds, in fact boys who had not yet sniffed gunpowder, to whom the war still seemed like a child's game, the military command "played along with the ignorant", if only they would voluntarily take their own lives without comprehending its value. Today, Hachimaki has gone from the military to athletes, workers and female workers with long hair. Hachimaki and fashionistas are used as an element of clothing. All its symbolic meaning has been lost and remains only in books and museums.