Shibari from Brutality to Art

Japanese bondage has evolved over the centuries. This evolution has transformed Shibari from brutality to art.

Shibari has its roots in hojojutsu, which is a Japanese Martial Art of the 16th century. Hojojustu teaches how to use ropes to capture and tie prisoners. Actually, it was a form of torture or punishment. Japan has the ability to ritualize and beautify everyday activities, and such is the case with hojojutsu, which could follow complicated patterns depending on their social class, the crime committed and the punishment that was reserver for the prisoner. Hojojustus was a very common torture during the Eso Period. It was so effective, that it usually led to confession.

Hojojutsu had a reputation for brutality, since it could leave permanent sequels on their victims. Likewise, it didn’t have any kind of sensual connotation. However, there was a shift from medieval brutality to erotic art, which took place during the 19th century. The leader of this transition was Itoh Seiyu, the “father of kinbaku”.

Itoh Seiyu absorbed the influence of hojojutsu, and combined it with his own fondness for erotic games of dominance and submission, (what we would call today BDSM), and this led to the art of Shibari. Itoh Seiyu gradually transformed the bindings of hojojutsu into Shibari, turning brutality into pleasure, where the rope instead of being strategically pressing nerves in order to cause pain, the search for an erogenous and safe zone began. The use of rope became a sensual, aesthetic and erotic art, in which the rope was placed in a more delicate way, making sure that it was not tighter, and of course, avoiding the risk of cutting off circulation or nerve damage.
Now you know the long way of Shibari from brutality to art.

Image: Shanghaiist