The History of Japanese Bondage

Japanese bondage is a historical erotic art which set down roots in the West in the mid-1990s. Quickly adopted by BDSM enthusiasts, we give you a brief history of this ancient rope bondage and its effect on modern culture.

Kinbaku vs Shibari

Kinbaku: meaning 'tight binding' in the Land of the Rising Sun, this is a form of Japanese-style bondage that uses intricate patterns to tie a thin rope around a bottom. This technique alludes to manifesting power over your partner, as hemp rope was used in Japanese culture to make prisoners submissive, much like handcuffs and their predecessors, the manacles.

Shibari: which literally means 'to tie'. This is a technique similar to kinbaku, but recent practice separates them by making a very simple distinction between the two. Shibari is viewed as a purely artistic exercise with an aesthetic purpose. Kinbaku currently refers to the sensual practice of bondage.

history of Japanese bondage
Japanese bondage is an ancient kink. Image: Ater Crudus via Flickr.com CC BY 2.0 license

East vs West

Eastern and Western erotic rope bondage practices are very different. In the East, flogging and other forms of erotic *** were used prior to a more advanced form of play and bondage. In the West, bondage is the simplest and first form. Western bondage involves using a single length of rope made of cotton or synthetic fibre. Its primary purpose is to restrain a consenting sexual partner.

Eastern bondage requires cooperation between partners and is viewed as a spiritual journey. It uses thinner, shorter lengths of rope, made of hemp and jute. In Japan, the means of securing your prisoner's obedience is by using multiple 6 to 8-metre long 'asanawa' strands or 'hemp rope'. Other types of fibre are quite common, including jute, flax and linen.

The rope lengths, known as 'ken' are proportional to the arm span. The 'hayanawa' ('fast rope') uses twice the arm span for short rope capture. The 'hon nawa' uses 14 times as much. Another aspect of Japanese bondage is aesthetics. The application of katas (rules) and the considerable effort is the main source of pleasure, not the end result.

History of Japanese bondage

Erotic Japanese bondage is believed to have begun to be used for sexual purposes in the Edo period, which spanned across the 17th through to the mid-19th century. Rope bondage, in a sexual context, first caught the eye of Japanese society in the late Edo period. This was when the arts and culture could be enjoyed by the people at their leisure. Seiu Ito, 'Father of Kinbaku', researched the martial art of Hojojutsu, which involves restraining people using rope. He drew inspiration from Ukiyoe erotica and Kabuki theatre.

Hojo-jitsu is also called torinawa-jutsu, and it's a samurai skill. It originated in Tokugawa Shogunate in Japan and was refined in the Edo era. Japanese warriors of the 1450s perfected 'quick capture' and restraining techniques using rope. A century later, the rope became part and parcel of law en***ment practices. Knotting was considered shameful, so prisoners were allowed to be bound without using knots.

Hojo-jitsu required four things:

to incapacitate the prisoner
to leave him unharmed
to keep the techniques secret
to make the bondage aesthetically pleasing

Samurai were traditionally respectful toward their prisoners. Under the Tokugawa government, this martial art was used for ***. As a form of ***, hojo-jitsu was used to bind the prisoner in the ebizeme ('Prawn') or 'tsurushi-zeme' position, the latter involving weights. Whipping, stoning, hanging from mid-air and constriction were the norm. Hojojitsu, as a martial art, subsided two centuries later. In fact, by the 1800s, it had disappeared. As an obscure martial art, Hojojitsu is practised across the world.

Japanese bondage in press and performance

Magazines in the 1950s helped kinbaku grow in popularity across Japan. Literature and art touched on subjects of bondage and sex. With tales of the 'Marquis de Sade', people's enthusiasm rose for kinbaku techniques. A decade later, Japan's porn industry took off. Tokyo theatres began to host shibari shows. These performances called for an unsuspecting member of the audience to volunteer for the public's viewing pleasure.

Some live SM performances included Japanese rope bondage. Japanese Masters, entitled nawashi ('rope artist'), kinkabushi or bakushi, perform live shows to this day. Shibari features in the works of many contemporary artists, photographers, ***ters and sculptures such as Hikari Kesho, Jim Duvall and Nobuyoshi Araki.

As the art extended across continents and was received by Western culture, it appealed less to the general public and more to fetish enthusiasts. Over time, heterosexual, gay and bisexual practitioners emerged. Japanese rope bondage extended into larger communities, regardless of sexual orientation. With the recent fusion of Western BDSM techniques and kinbaku, a hybrid bondage practice created: 'fusion' bondage.

Japanese rope bondage today

The three rules of Kinbaku:

make sure that the captive is powerless
create appealing bondage
the prisoner is still and peaceful throughout his spiritual journey

Popular knots used:

Overhand
Lark's head
the Square Knot
the Bowline
Anchor Hitch

Simple techniques:

Ryo-tekubi: with wrists tied together in front of the prisoner's bottom.
Kotobu Ryo-tekubi: with the wrists tied together behind the head.
Mune Nawa: with the prisoner tied around the chest.

Some of the most popular Kinbaku forms:

the Karada
the Ushiro Takate Kote
the Kikkou (tortoise shell harness)
the Hishi (diamond body harness)
the Ebi
the Gyaku-ebi (reverse 'ebi' similar to a hog-tie)
the Agura (bound with legs crossed)
the Matanawa (crotch rope)
the Tazuki
the Tanuki
the Kataashi tsuri

Modern-day practices have very little to do with the original art of Japanese bondage. The movement is symbolic of changes occurring within society. Kinbaku remains the flagship of bondage, heralding more imaginative and pleasurable techniques to come.