Shibari: The Art of Japanese Rope Bondage
Whether you want to find new ways to challenge power during intimacy or you enjoy the shame of being captured by your lovers nifty bondage techniques, we’ve got everything you need to know about shibari.
From restraining captives in Japan to becoming a beautiful art in bdsm and bondage culture, shibari is definitely more of an art form to practice than a replacement for arm, neck, and leg cuffs. If you don’t know where to begin as a shibari beginner, we’ve got some tips to help you explore this kink with safety and orgasms at the front of this process!
Japanese Bondage or Shibari
First of all, whether it’s your first time exploring this exciting and artistic form of power play or your millionth time, keeping everyone physically safe is the most important part of play.
There is nothing fun about injuring your play mate because of bad practice and that is something that applies to all forms of bondage with any other person.
You could spend a long, long time going over the cultural significance and history of shibari as there’s a lot of technical terms to learn if you want to become a master.
Japanese rope bondage is also known as shibari or more correctly, kinbaku, and it was a style of rope bondage that focuses on skill rather than just restraint. The entire point of shibari in Japanese bondage terms is that you create beautiful and often intricate patterns on the body of the person being tied using the rope.
Whilst the Japanese do still derive pleasure from shibari, the knots are supposed to create more than just a feeling on the skin as you use the rope to bind your partner.
Shibari actually stems from historical methods to restrain someone in Japan called hojo jutsu which highlighted the contrast between the rope and skin. It is still an artform designed for pleasure and is one of the more erotic practices from Japanese culture.
Some of the most vital basics to understand are of course, safety, talking between both parties, and exploring the kink of giving total trust to your partner in a secure space. You must allow yourself to almost let go of reality whilst grounding yourself in the length of rope.
Commons terms in shibari are the bunny who is the partner being tied up and the rigger who is the partner doing the binding.
The Rope Material Used in Shibari
So the length of rope in shibari can be as long as you want it to be but if you’re new to shibari, it’s really sensible to follow a video of a simple bind to help avoid getting tied up over the details!
When you’re watching a the free videos with step by step instructions, pay attention to the rope they’re using and the size of the body being tied up. People with largers bodies need longer ropes whereas smaller bodies need less rope. Of course, if you’re tied in a more intricate Japanese method, you will also need more rope to cover the body.
Depending on the feeling or pattern you’d like to create, the type of rope you need to choose can vary. If the person being tied up is sensitive around areas like their ankles or ribs, start with a softer rope. In Japan, the Japanese use materials such as jute, hemp, or linen for their rope so choose from these ropes to fit best with the person being tied.
In Japan the rope is often up to 8m long and around 6mm wide but some people use rope as thin as 4mm for different styles of shibari. Depending on how your shibari ropes are tied, you might need thinner or thicker rope to get the knots tied exactly how you’d like it to look.
Different Rope Tying
Depending on how the ropes are tied, can depend on the pattern you’re following. The original hojojutsu ties were designed to cause harm to prisoners so have been significantly modified to be safe for use within the bdsm communtiy.
It’s always good to look up a tutorial with whoever you’re practicing with and discuss how they would prefer the experience to go. They are giving up a lot of trust and control to whoever is the rigger so it’s good practice to follow their lead.
If you’re totally new to shibari, it’s smart to stick to something a little simpler to avoid getting frustrated by a negative first experience.
Some of the most common kinbaku styles include:
- Ushiro takate kote
- Single wrist binding 片手首縛り Katate kubi shibari
- Both wrists binding 両手首縛り Ryoute kubi shibari
- Handcuff binding 手錠縛り Tejou shibari
- Prisoner handcuff binding 連行手錠縛り Renkou tejou shibari
- Hands behind the back binding 後ろ手縛り Ushiro te shibari
- Hands behind the head tie 後頭後ろ手縛り Koutou ushiro te shibari
- Tasuki (kimono string) tied 襷(タスキ)縛り Tasuki (tasuki ) shibari
- Turtle (diamond) binding 亀甲縛り(菱縄縛り) Kikkou shibari (hishi nawa shibari)
- Upright standing binding 直立不動一本縛り Chokuritsu fudou ippon shibari
- Cross-legged binding 胡座 縛り Agura shibari
But obviously, there are literally hundreds of different ways to try shibari! Whatever takes your fancy, you can find someone on one of the apps below and start discussing how things might play out between you two. It’s an amazing experience and when you find someone you can well and truly trust, it’s well worth investing a little time and effort into learning it together!
Tie the Knot with Taimi
Fancy trying a little Japanese rope bondage in real life? Whether you’re the person tying the knots or the person enjoying the tight binding of a full body harness, shibari is fun way to explore new kinds of sexual activity and light bdsm.
If you’re looking for the person of your dreams who is interested in the world of bdsm and bondage then why not try Taimi? You’ll find more people than you first expect who would like to enjoy shibari but don’t know where to start. So, what are you waiting for? Find someone who feels the same way about shibari as you and practice this ancient art and your whole range of new techniques together!
