Tradition and Innovation in Shibari

Shibari is a bondage specialty widely practiced nowadays by many kink enthusiasts. It is also an artform with a long tradition going all the way back to the Medieval practices of torture and restraint in ancient Japan. There is a confluence of tradition and innovation in Shibari.

We usually think of tradition and innovation as opposites. However, at least in the case of Shibari, they are anything but. In reality, they compliment each other. Without the tradition of Hojojutsu, Kinbaku, the organic ropes, and the pink cinema, Shibari would lose much of its identity. On the other hand, without innovations like making it into a kink, color ropes, cosplay and social media, and the contribution technology has made to the scenes, Shibari would be nothing more than a relic from the past.

Consequently, a true Shibari enthusiast has a strong reverence toward tradition. But, he will also feel a strong impulse to innovate. That’s why we see a lot of masters and riggers who combine traditional elements with new developments. This is a trend that will no doubt continue into the future.

The blending of tradition and innovation in Shibari is a profoundly Japanese trait. It is a stark contrast with the typical Western attitude of seeing tradition and innovation in constant struggle, which tradition tends to lose. 

In Shibari, we learn that the new, synthetic fiber ropes do not vanquish the old, organic ropes. Nowadays, Shibari is an erotic practice, not the restraint technique it was in the times of Hojojutsu. However, you wouldn’t understand Shibari without Hojojutsu, and the former embraces that aspect.

One final word: do not praise something just because it’s new and do not dismiss something just because it’s old. The new and the old are, in the end, relative to each other. That which is new today will become ancient in the future.

It might be wiser to admire the value of things, rather than just their novelty.