Wari

Wari is an intuition of the most appropriate element for a specific situation in a bondage scene. As Kinbaku master Nureki says: “So many women, so many ways of Kinbaku”. This means that a rigger should never act unimaginatively, according to a formula. Rather, he must look for the one most appropriate element to include in a specific scene.

Wari is the intuition that any artist has about his work. Just as a painter chooses this tone of yellow and not the other, even if it is very similar, a kinbakushi will choose a knot, or a position, or a color, or a touch of lightning, and not any other.

Bondage is an art that deals with dimension and proportion. Moreover, there are strong forces and emotions involved. Wari is a sort of good taste to combine all these different elements and produce a powerful, coherent aesthetic experience.

Just as in other works of art, each element in a Shibari scene should be so convenient, by itself and in relation to the others, that the slightest modification should ruin the general effect. It is a superior level of skill and knowledge, which is the mark of the true artist. Shibari does not consist in some random act of tying, but rather it is a sum of careful choices. 

To a certain extent, Wari is a talent. Therefore, it can’t be taught. It is something that you either have or you don’t. Nevertheless, you can develop the skills and study the techniques. Moreover, it is always possible to learn from previous masters and, while this is no substitute for natural talent, it can increase the artist’s awareness of his own work.

To sum up, Wari should be one of the Kinbakushi’s main concerns, since it can improve the quality of his art and the intensity of the artistic experience.