In Edo-period Japan, crowded wooden buildings made fires common, so the city formed firefighting brigades. Brigades were either samurai or commoner groups, and both tore down buildings around a fire to stop it spreading, since water supply was too limited for pumps to be practical. Each firefighter wore a reversible coat called a hikeshi banten, plain on the outside with the brigade's name, and richly decorated inside. The coats were made of layered quilted cotton using sashiko stitching and resist-dyed with the tsutsugaki technique. Firefighters wore them plain side out and soaked them in water before entering a blaze, which protected the dyed designs.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.