Kinbaku / Shibari

Japanese Rope bondage is often called Shibari or Kinbaku, terms used interchangeably by the Japanese. Shibari literally means “to bind” and Kinbaku means “tight binding”. The word Shibari came into common language more recently, and outside the erotic world it does not necessarily identify a form of Bondage. In Shibari the emphasis is not placed on the binding itself, but on how the rope is placed from the Rigger (in japanese kinbakushi), so as to become an extension of his hands, and on the relationship of intimacy so created. In short, the Japanese bondage concerns more the path that leads to the final result, than the result itself. Kinbaku, unlike the Western bondage, is not a practice, but a real discipline, which involves what the Japanese call “kokoro”, i.e. “the heart, spirit and mind”, things can not be acquired through the mere knowledge of techniques and knots. Today Japanese Bondage is not only a form of constraint, but has become a real artistic expression, where the Rigger creates a sculpture by shaping the human body through ropes.