Japanese Shibari Art

Japanese Bondage Terms

•agura: cross-legged position (seated lotus position)
•asa or asanawa: traditional Japanese bondage and torture rope made of hemp
•dojo: literally, “Place of the Way,” or place of learning (e.g. a school)
•dorei: slave
•gakko: school
•gei: artistic skill
•gyakuebi: Japanese hog tie
•hojojutsu: traditional style of military incarceration and torture used in feudal Japan by samurai and police
•jujun: submissive
•kaikyaku kani: crab leg
•karada: “body”, refers to torso/body bondage
•kikkou: tortoise shell body harness
•kinbaku: (noun) bondage
•kinbaku-bi: commonly referred to as the art of erotic/sensual Japanese rope bondage (a concept formed in the early 20th century)
•kotori: suspention bondage
•mata nawa or sakuranbo: crotch bondage (the cherry)
•musubime: knot
•musunde: tying a knot
•nawa: rope
•nawashi: “a maker of rope;” (general) rope bondage artist; (purist) rope bondage artist whom utilizes solely natural (traditional) forms of bondage, including wood beams and hemp rope (e.g. no metal or synthetics)
•nawa sensei: master/teacher of rope bondage
•nawa shibari: (noun) rope-tying with a rope (an incorrect, “made-up” term, does not exist in Japanese)
•sensei: “One who has gone before” (e.g. teacher/master)
•shibari: (noun) to tie or to bind with a rope
•shibaritai: a top indicating his/her desire for bondage action
•shibararetai: a sub indicating his/her desire for bondage action
•shibaru: (verb) tie or bind with a rope
•shinju / mune nawa: breast bondage (the pearls)
•tori: one who demonstrates an action or technique
•tsuri: “to hang”, partial rope suspension
•uke: passive partner in the demonstration of technique (e.g. the bottom)
•unsui: “cloud and water,” means “seeker of truth” in Japanese (e.g. student)
•ushirote munenawa: arm and chest bondage