Hikari Kesho  writes

"Shibari, more correctly known as Kinbaku is an ancient Japanese artistic form of rope bondage that has many styles and uses. It is related in style to other traditional Japanese arts such as Ikebana, Sumi-e (black ink painting) and Chanoyu (the tea ceremony). Among the many uses of Shibari are dynamic living sculpture, shared meditative practice, deep relaxation for flexibility of mind and body, expression of power exchange, and intimate erotic restraint. 

 

In Shibari (the action of tying someone up) the Nawashi (rope artist) creates almost geometric patterns and shapes that contrast wonderfully with the  body's natural curves and recesses. Visually, the tight ropes and their texture provide a counterpoint to smooth skin and curves. The hard edges of the rope reinforce the softness of the body's graceful shape: the model is like a canvas, and the rope is paint and brush. This contrast is even emphasized by the use of  Junoesque models, whose generous curves are squeezed by the ropes to create more pronounced shapes and shadows

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Originally Shibari started out as a form of incarceration in Japan from 1400 to 1700. At that time, the local police and Samurai used it as a form of imprisonment. The rope was multi-functional and was used not only for binding prisoners or hanging up the armor, but also for securing a saddle or tethering a horse.

There were no jails in Japan and very few metal resources. But they had lots of hemp and jute rope. So rope was what they used to immobilize prisoners. This is the origin of the martial art called Hojo-justu and other martial arts. Even today, police in Japan carry a bundle of hemp rope in the trunks of police cars in case they need it.

According to the earliest tradition of the Edo (1600-1868) period, there was a well-establisehd association between four colors (blue, red, white and black), the seasons, directions, and the four Chinese guards of the four directions (the dragon, the phoenix, the tiger and the tortoise). The color of the rope changed with the season, and the prisoner was restrained facing the direction appropriate to the color and season. By the end of the Edo period, the colors had been reduced to two, white and indigo.

Hemp was used for the real ropes while silk was used for practice upon straw dummies. Shibari is built up of many ropes, each one doing its job, each one contributing to the total effect. Every knot has its historic significance and all of them have to do with the roots of Shibari in Hojo-jutsu (the martial art of restraining captives). There is even a form of bondage for noble captives where actual knots were not used at all and the prisoner was on his honor not to escape.

The honor of ancient Samurai warriors was rated on how well they took charge of their prisoners, and the technique used to tie the prisoner showed the honor and status of that Samurai. There were four rules of Hojo-jutsu:

 

 

1. Not to allow the prisoner to slip his bonds.
2. Not to cause any physical or mental injury.
3. Not to allow others to see the techniques.
4. To make the result beautiful to look at.

 

 

 

 

 

In the late 1800's and early 1900's a new form of erotic Hojo-justu evolved. This was called Kinbaku (the art of erotic bondage).

 

Shibari is a combination of bondage effects as most of us know them (power, helplessness), but also beauty and aesthetics (it can be compared to Japanese Ikebana, the 700 year-old Japanese art of flower arranging). The intense massage by the ropes and knots is very similar to acupuncture techniques and Shiatsu (a form of Japanese massage).

The art of arranging ropes and knots on the model’s body according to a strict sense of aesthetics reflects the cultural heritage of Ikebana, which emphasizes characteristics like sensuality, vulnerability, and strength. On the other hand, Shibari is simply a static monument.

The concept of  positioning knots to stimulate pressure points on the body is derived from Shiatsu. The skilledNawashi uses his knowledge of massage and pressure points to get those thick knots in just the right places. There are crossover influences and effects between Shibari and the traditional Asian medical philosophy of Ki-energy, meridians and Trusbo (pressure points), used in Shiatsu and other Bokam (traditional oriental medicine) techniques."

   

    Hikari Kesho