Japanese bondage

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Shibari (しばり?) is a Japanese verb that literally means "to tie" or "to bind" it is used in Japan to describe the artful use of twine to tie objects or packages. Kinbaku (緊縛?) is the word for "bondage" or Kinbaku-bi which means "beautiful bondage". Kinbaku (also Sokubaku) is a Japanese style of sexual bondage or BDSM which involves tying up the bottom (or uke) simple yet visually intricate patterns, usually with several pieces of thin rope (generally 6mm or 8mm). The word Shibari came in to common use in the west at some point in the 1990s to describe the bondage art Kinbaku.

Japanese Bondage is said to differ from Western bondage in that, instead of just immobilizing or restraining the bottom, the bottom gains pleasure from being under the pressure and strain of the ropes, squeezing the breasts or genitals—though there are examples of Western bondages enthusiasts such as John Willie. The main difference is that Western full-body bondage uses long lengths of rope (early on cotton rope, later in the 1980s or 1990s nylon become popular, later still—around 2000—polypropylene became the material of choice) as opposed to Japanese bondage which uses multiple pieces of rope of 7 meters. Japanese bondage as practiced in Japan also uses relatively simple knots (requiring only about two to five types of knots), while western bondage enthusiasts tend to favor more complex knots.

The aesthetics of the bound person's position are also important: in particular, Japanese bondage is notorious for its use of asymmetric positions to heighten the psychological impact of bondage.

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[edit] History

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.

Many rope artists have derived their own flavor of Japanese-inspired bondage which often mixes some Shibari techniques with other forms of bondage.

Kinbaku is greatly influenced by the Sengoku period of Japan. One of Japan's darkest historical eras of torture and execution, it is still remembered for cruel means and methods that include the use of fire, knives, tattoos, rocks, boiling water, divining blocks and rocking horses[citation needed], etc.

Eventually (in 1742) the Tokugawa government created a foundation of crime laws, which included the seven different types of punishment (Labour, slavery, exile, death, etc) and the four kinds of torture (whip, pressing stone, constriction by rope, and hanging by rope).

According to several sources, bondage as a sexual activity first came to notice in Japan in the late Edo period. Generally recognized as "father of Kinbaku" is Ito Seiu, who started studying and researching Hojojutsu in 1908 and turned it into an art form. Kinbaku became widely popular in the 1950s in magazine form (some sources to some extent credit influence from John Willie with popularizing Kinbaku). In the 1960s, a tradition of bondage as a form of performance art developed in Japan.

In recent years Japanese style ropework has become popular in the western BDSM scene.

[edit] Technique

Traditional Kinbaku is based on fairly specific rope patterns, most of them derived from Hojojutsu ties. Of particular importance are the Takate Kote (a type of arm box tie), which forms the basis of most Kinbaku ties, and the Ebi, or "Shrimp", which was originally designed as a torture tie but today makes the bottom vulnerable for more pleasant forms of play.

Generally, traditional Kinbaku is practiced with ropes of 7 meters (23 feet) in length. Due to the generally different physique of Western bottoms, 8 meter (26 feet) ropes are commonly used in the West. The rope material is usually hemp or jute (neither sisal nor manila hemp are usually useful), prepared according to specific techniques to achieve a pleasantly soft yet sturdy rope. Other materials are also sometimes used, although most synthetic ropes tend to be too slippery for Shibari techniques.

For historic reasons, Kinbaku uses very few knots, sometimes none at all, or only a lark's head or an overhand knot. This requires rope with high friction.

[edit] Glossary

  • kinbaku (緊縛?): (noun) bondage
  • shibari (縛り?): (verb) to tie or bind
  • nawa shibari (縄縛り?): (noun) rope tying
  • nawashi (縄師?): (noun) literally,"a maker of rope", but in SM circles in means "rope artist" (source Master K's book "Shibari, The art of Japanese Bondage")

[edit] Topics

This section is a stub. You can help by expanding it.

Topics in Japanese bondage include:

  • Karada Japanese word for body (body harness, a "rope dress")
  • Ushiro takate kote Foundational form for most shibari ties, capturing the upper body / breasts and arms in a "U" shape behind the back
  • Kikkou - A body tie that ends with a tortoise shell design in the front upper torso.
  • Hishi A tie using diamond shapes. When done as a full body tie, it is sometimes also called hishi-kikkou. The hishi has been popularized by manga, or cartoon, art.
  • Ebi The "shrimp" tie
  • Agoura a less severe tie similar to an ebi
  • Tazuki "criss-cross harness"
  • Tanuki "racoon dog"
  • Kataashi tsuri "one-legged suspension"
  • Asymmetrical bondage, a common feature of Japanese bondage
  • Tsuri suspension
  • Gyaku ebi
  • Hojojutsu
  • RopeMarks
  • Drachenmann

[edit] Further reading

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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