What is Shibari?

Shibari is a Japanese word that literally means to tie or to bind.  Sometime during the decade of the 1990's the word shibari became commonly used to describe the art of Japanese bondage.  In Japanese vernacular the term Shibari actually means the artful use of twine to tie objects or packages, and the more proper term for the art of stylized sexual rope bondage is Kinbaku.

Shibari differs from Western bondage in a couple of key ways.  For instance, instead of just immobilizing or restraining the bottom as is common in Western bondage (often applied to make the subject directly sexually available,) the Shibari subject is more intricately bound.

The more intricate patterns of Shibari often directly squeeze the subject's breasts or genitals. This style of bondage promotes pleasurable sensations from the pressure and strain of the ropes on erogenous zones, but often makes the subject less directly available for traditional genital sex.

The aesthetics of the bound individual's position are also more important in Shibari than in Western bondage.  Japanese bondage is notorious for its use of asymmetric positions which are applied to heighten the psychological impact of the subject's bondage.

Traditional Shibari involves bondage with several lengths of relatively thin natural fiber rope, usually made from jute, while less traditional versions of Shibari often use other kinds, lengths, and even thicknesses of rope.

The acknowledged grandfather of modern shibari is Akechi Denki, who died 17 Nov, 2005, aged 64. Living grandmasters include Nureki Chimuo, Yukimura Haruki, Chiba Eizoh, Osada Steve, Randa Mai and Arisue Go.

Although some of the techniques of Japanese sexual bondage originated with the military restraint technique of Hojojutsu, sexual bondage techniques are far gentler, and great care is taken to avoid injury.