History Main / Sarashi

[[folder:Music]]
* The page image is of the Music/{{Vocaloid}}s Rin and Len Kagamine each modeling their gender's version.
[[/folder]]

* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'':

* Akira Okuzaki from ''Anime/MaiHime'' wore these [[{{Crossdresser}} to hide a secret.]] Also, {{ninja}}.

* An open shirt and sarashi appears to be the "uniform" of Haine's yanki gang in ''Manga/ShinshiDoumeiCross''. Also kicks the FanService up a notch; yanki Haine is hot, and the rest of her gang doesn't do too bad either.

* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'': Reimu wears sarashi under her sleeveless dress.

* Disney/{{Mulan}}, from the eponymous film, wore the breast-flattening version to pass as an Imperial soldier. The bandages she wears at the hospital tent also count.

* In some edits of Creator/BruceLee's ''Fist of Fury'', Lee's character is able to figure out someone is a Japanese spy when he spots them in a sarashi. Not so much by ''what'' he's wearing but in ''how'' he's wearing it. The man's nipples were exposed, as is standard for Japanese men (as in the page image); Chinese prefer to keep them hidden.

[[quoteright:227:[[{{Music/Vocaloid}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/3b4d1a37f8518eff5d5444b34d92673a_5570.jpg]]]]

* [[https://danganronpa.wikia.com/wiki/File:DR1_Concept_Art_-_Group_Illustration_(5).png Official artwork]] of ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'' shows Kiyotaka Ishimaru wearing this, fitting for his disciplined personality as the Ultimate Moral Compass.

* Cinder, the villain of ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' uses this under a loose vest in Volume 3, though the waist wrap stops below the navel.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

[[folder:FanWorks]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* Natani, a female-to-male {[transgender}}[[note]]sort of--it's complicated[[/note]] wolf assassin from ''Webcomic/TwoKinds'', uses a sarashi to cover up his breasts and better present as male. Ironically, he's actually one of the bustiest characters in the series, and actually has to use special wraps enchanted with a variant of the BagOfHolding enchantment to make it work.

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* Cinder, the villain of ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' uses this under a loose vest in Volume 3, though the waist wrap stops below the navel.
[[/folder]]

[[caption-width-right:220:For her and for him.]]

** Also Raine, from the same comic, as of Chapter 15 onwards. (Shown later to have been made from her torn up jumper/sweater, which was used for bandages.

** Also Raine, from the same comic, as of Chapter 15 onwards. Justified for her because she's a dragon temporarily adopting a human form; she has the ability to control the size of her bosom and, being from a normally breastless species with little experience in using human form, she prefers to keep herself flat-chested for comfort and better balance.

* Natani, a wolf assassin from ''Webcomic/TwoKinds''.
** Also Raine, from the same comic, as of Chapter 15 onwards.

* Erza Scarlet sports [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/erza_2014.png this look]] as one of her most frequently equipped armors in ''Manga/FairyTail'', combined with a pair of flame print hakama pants, and her hair in a ponytail, plus a pair of katanas. The lack of her usual armor significantly increases her speed, [[ShedArmorGainSpeed at the cost of any defense]].

* [[https://danganronpa.wikia.com/wiki/File:DR1_Concept_Art_-_Group_Illustration_(5).png Official artwork]] of ''VisualNovel/DanganRonpa'' shows Kiyotaka Ishimaru wearing this, fitting for his disciplined personality as the Ultimate Moral Compass.

* Sarashi appear in the ''Videogame/{{Yakuza}}'' games as equipable items that raise the wearer's defense. Also, in one scene in ''Yakuza 2'', Kazuma is seen shirtless with bandages wrapped around his midriff; however, the scene occurs after he's been stabbed in the gut and mauled by tigers, so in this case their presence is more of a consequence than an outfit choice. Of course, this being Kazuma Kiryuu, they look pretty badass anyway.
* Naoto from ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}''. For various reasons, although one of them leads to [[spoiler:her Shadow [[GenderBender trying to make the sarashi unnecessary]]...]]
* In ''VideoGame/RivalSchools'', the Gedo High team deliberately evokes the old gangster stereotypes, so it should come as no surprise when Project Justice reveals that Daigo wears one in his [[BrainwashedAndCrazy Wild Daigo]] form.

* In ''VisualNovel/DRAMAticalMurder'' Koujaku wears sarashi under his kimono, tying together his samurai-like appearance.

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* Yuuki from the webcomic ''Webcomic/SparklingGenerationValkyrieYuuki'' ''tried'' to use the [[http://www.sgvy.com/archives/Edda2/Issue1/Page2.html bandage bra]] version to flatten her (well, actually, ''[[GenderBender his]]'') heroic "assets" but had to give up because she couldn't breathe.

* In ''Film/SuicideSquad2016'', ComicBook/{{Katana}} is wearing a bosozoku version of her ''ComicBook/{{New 52}}'' outfit, modified to depict her with an open jacket and a sarashi to cover her breasts.

[[folder:Films -- Live Action]]

* [[https://danganronpa.wikia.com/wiki/File:Cover_Art_Blue.jpg Official artwork]] of ''VisualNovel/DanganRonpa'' shows Kiyotaka Ishimaru wearing this, fitting for his disciplined personality as the Ultimate Moral Compass.

* Erza Scarlet sports this look as one of her most frequently equipped armors in ''Manga/FairyTail'', combined with a pair of flame print hakama pants, and her hair in a ponytail, plus a pair of katanas. The lack of her usual armor significantly increases the Badass-ness.

Of course, if it's a female samurai,[[note]]"[[LadyOfWar onna bugeisha]]" which extends to all female warriors, is the proper term because "samurai" should only be used for men, as it was in the UsefulNotes/SengokuPeriod[[/note]] a sarashi is pretty much a given.

Though common in anime -- JapaneseDelinquents (particularly in classic, older series) will often be seen wearing one under their coat or unbuttoned shirt as a visible cue as to their general level of badassery -- this is also a general Japanese cultural trope, often found in RealLife and applicable to women as well as to men. For female characters, however, a sarashi may also serve as an accessory to a potentially boring outfit, as an aid in {{crossdress|er}}ing, or simply as a way to prevent {{Gainaxing}}. In these cases the wrapping is pushed up a few inches to cover and flatten the chest ([[FanService usually]]), and the irony inherent in using such a traditional symbol of masculinity to accentuate or disguise femininity may be deliberately invoked.

Of course, if it's a female samurai,[[note]]"[[LadyOfWar onna bugeisha]]" which extends to all female warriors, is the proper term because "samurai" should only be used for men, as it was in the Sengoku Period[[/note]] a sarashi is pretty much a given.

* The ''Literature/DreambloodDuology'': Hunandi binds her breasts and wears men's clothing to downplay her status as the first woman in the Sharer priesthood of Gujaareh. Once she realizes that she's making herself unhappy, that it's not doing anything to mollify the people who feel threatened by her, and that she's setting precedent for future female priests, she switches to unapologetically feminine garb.

%% Note to anyone who might want to do this: '''Use ACE bandages!''' Ace bandages won't keep pressure and tighten over time. Anything else can and will result in difficulty breathing, bruising, cracked and broken ribs, and death in more extreme cases.

* Viola in ''Film/ShesTheMan'' uses an Ace bandage to flatten herself to pull of her crossdress masquerade, removing it only to shower [[spoiler:and to [[{{Fanservice}} flash the stadium]] at the end of the movie.]]

* Alanna the Lioness, from ''Literature/SongOfTheLioness'', uses bandages to disguise herself as a boy while training as a knight, and eventually upgrades to a special corset. She is eventually found out by the court during a sword duel with the villain, who cuts through her shirt and the corset accidentally, exposing her to the entire court. He was quite surprised.
* The protagonist of ''Literature/{{Parrotfish}}'', Grady, wears one to make his chest appear flat because he is a {{transgender}} man.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* Kari of the ''Series/{{Mythbusters}}'' apparently recommends [[http://dsc.discovery.com/video/index.html?playerId=203711706&categoryId=210013704&lineupId=1283221956&titleId=1364233919 duct tape]] for this purpose in RealLife. (Relevant bit is at the end of the clip)
** Let it be known that this is actually very dangerous, and can cause severe injury.
[[/folder]]

* {{Bifauxnen}} {{Gunslinger}} Soli from ''Webcomic/TheMeek'' wears a bandage bra. It's not immediately apparent why. It may be simple poverty, but given the Victorian and frontier character of the setting bras may not be available and a wrap may be the only practical alternative to a corset.
* One character in ''Webcomic/VenusEnvy'' is a trans man who wears bindings. Someone else catches a glimpse of the bandages and jumps to the conclusion that he's a street fighter; Larson's response is basically SureLetsGoWithThat.

* An unusual variant in ''Webcomic/{{Avialae}}'': Bailey uses his trans brother's old bandages to bind Gannet's ''[[WingedHumanoid wings]]'' so that he can hide them under his shirt.

* It has become common among female cosplayers to use a sarashi to conceal their chests for cosplaying male characters (or [[ViewerGenderConfusion Sheik]]). Same goes for quite a few [[{{Transgender}} trans men]] who want to bind. Ace bandages[[note]]Known outside the USA as elastic bandages, compression bandages, pressure stockings, etc[[/note]] are not recommended though, as they grow gradually tighter, and can break your ribcage.