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The Sound Four wear a purple-colored type of _belt_ or _wrap_ around their
waists:

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/CPHFi.jpg)

Orochimaru, their master, also wore one:

![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/hTWYc.jpg)

Being some of the few ninja I have seen wearing one, does it have a formal
name? What does it signify and does it relate or exist in real world
fighting..? _It feels almost sumo-ish, I think._


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2013-03-22T14:48:55.170
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2019-06-23T01:09:15.747
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naruto
What does the 'belt' Orochimaru and the Sound Four wear signify?


The belt they are wearing is generally referred to as an "obi."

The belt braided in the style of
[Shimenawa](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimenawa) ropes, sacred Shinto ropes
made by twisting together straws. It is hung horizontally to indicate a sacred
Shintoism place such as praying hall or torii.

The Wikipedia article (linked above) notes that:

> A variation of the shimenawa is used in [sumo
> wrestling](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumo_wrestling) by
> [yokozuna](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yokozuna_%28sumo%29) (grand
> champions) during their entrance ceremonies to denote their rank. This is
> because the yokozuna is seen as a living yorishiro (formally
> [shintai](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shintai)), and as such is inhabited
> by a spirit.


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