Whether you practice Kinbaku, Shibari or Bondage, the person who is tying has a specific name. Therefore, you should know the difference between rigger, nawashi, and bakushi. Depending on what you do, you will use one term or another. In the end, the way to refer to the person tying depends on whether you are practicing Shibari, Kinbaku or Bondage.
We all know Shibari, Kinbaku and Bondage are most likely the same things, where someone ties another one with ropes. Each activity has its terms, and although the meaning is the same, each practice has its own term. In this case, the person who is tied is called in Bondage “Bottom or Bunny”. Likewise, in either Shibari or Kinkabu, you can refer to them as “Nawashi” or “Bakushi”.
As for the person in charge of the rope and in charge of tying, there are different names, like Rigger, Top, Bakushi or Kinbakushi, where all the four words share the same meaning.
In the words “Kinbakushi” and “Bakushi”, the “shi” means “teacher or master”. Their translation can be “Rope Master”. Although both words refer basically to the same action, “Bakushi” focuses on the performance and impresses the audience, and “Nawashi” concentrates on the communication with the partner and includes emotions.
These differences have different reasons, where Shibari is part of the developed, commercially progressed porn industry, where the innovation and original ideas that transformed Kinbaku into Shibari may have innovated in changes and even titles and terms. The 3 words are equivalent in a way to refer to the person tying. However, the most frequent word is “rigger”, which refers to the practitioners in a more technical sense.
Now you know the difference between rigger, nawashi, and bakushi. It is important to know the different terms of Shibari.
Image: Edition KLFW
