Victorian Shibari

My name is Willebald Smythee. I do historical research for a museum in Birmingham. I’m an expert on the Victorian period. That’s why, when I found this story about Victorian Shibari, I knew I had to share it with other bondage enthusiasts.

Archibald Wallace was commodore of the South Fleet from 1888 to 1889. As such, he made several trips to Japan. Unusual for the time, he felt deep respect and admiration for Japanese culture. He even managed to learn the language at a basic level. 

In regard to his personal life, he had married two years prior. His wife was Lady Adeline, who was famous for her beauty and charm.

Commodore Wallace left behind a diary of his years abroad. It remained sealed until his death. And his descendants sold it at an auction after the commodore’s funeral in 1946. Archie Sudeldorff, an obscure writer, bought it. Then, he used it as the basis for his novel “Dark Bedroom Secret,”  published in 1952. In it, he presented, in a disgusting, exploitative manner, the singular bedroom habits of the commodore and his wife.

Recently, I had access to the diary. It contains a fascinating account of the discovery of Shibari by a Western couple. It’s fascinating how, at first, the commodore feels disgusted at bondage, only to become thrilled by it later, after tying his wife for the first time.

Being an exemplary Victorian citizen. And, therefore, a heavily repressed person when it comes to sexuality, the commodore struggles to make sense of why he feels so attracted to something that he should consider sinful and obscene. 

And at the same time, it happens to his wife. While, initially, she rejects the commodore’s proposal of getting tied up, she ends up reaching “an unprecedented, delirious ecstasy”—in”other words, a good, healthy orgasm.

I understand why the commodore kept his diary unpublished during his lifetime. Victorian Shibari was a too far-fetched idea at the time. But now, we can enjoy it with an open mind.