Monday, September 16, 2013

Attending author Holly Roberts guest post


Tied up in knots over Shibari verses Kinbaku

In Japanese, the word Shibari means “to tie” or “to bind,” the contemporary meaning of Shibari refers to Hojo-jutsu, an ancient Japanese form of rope bondage. Hojo-jutsu, was used by the Japanese from the 1400 to 1700’s to restrain captives. In the late 1800’s Hojo-jutsu took on a sensual aspect and became known as “Kinbaku,” the art of erotic bondage.

Truthfully, I’m fascinated with both Shibari and Kinbaku. Both require incredible artistic skill but I feel Shibari is the erotic spirituality of rope, artistically connecting with the human body, whereas, Kinbaku is the sexual aspect of bondage through the intricacies of rope. And yes, the two can merge, so I leave it to readers to decide their own interpretation.