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.
