Japan was and is one of the most exciting places in the Eastern hemisphere, the cultural disciple of China. It has not changed its views on many traditions. Idiosyncrasies are, however,
everywhere due to Buddhism and
Shintoism. Although the Japanese
women have exchanged the
kimono and geta for mini skirts and
platform
boots, interest in bedroom adventures has changed very little. The tradition still exists in modern Japan in all forms—in business, art, and natural reproduction. It is common to find movies,
animation, comics, photos, and signs in Tokyo that present the art of
Rope
Bondage, currently known in Japan as
Shibari or Kinbaku.
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The Western approach to studying mores of a culture often makes us lose sight of several interesting aspects of a culture. When we study and explore
Japanese culture on a superficial level, we usually get a bad impression about this art form. In the west, we are taught that everything similar to or relating to
shibari is bad, or an aberration. In the East, it is not seen that way. The
Kama Sutra
was created in India. China and all neighboring countries, including Japan, see the physical act as a biological necessity. Not having Christianity to dictate rules and establish carnal sins, the East could use its imagination to play or create pleasure. Based on the precepts of
Buddhism and
Shintoism, art forms such as Chanoyu, Ikebana,
Kendo or Shibari were created.
(Related article: Garter
belts in the bedroom) |
 Origin of bondage in Japan
The history of
Sokubaku or bondage in Japan begins with illustrations in an art form known as
Hojo-jutsu or Baku-jutsu. These art forms were part of the schools of
martial arts practiced by the
Samurais. To understand this better, we must go to the dark epoch of medieval Japan. Bushido and Japanese religions have much to do with these art forms. They consist of capturing an enemy or detaining him using ropes in the least amount of time possible. This puts the Japanese in first place worldwide in the speed and capture of prisoners using only a rope.
In
1742 Japan, under the Tokugawa Government, four kinds of
punishment were common. These were: the whip, pressing parts of the prisoner’s body with a heavy rock, rope restriction and suspension with ropes. Rope was used to create poor circulation, immobility, and humiliating positions for prisoners. Punishment was both physical and mental. To accomplish this, different types of binding and different colors of rope were used to identify the kind of crime the prisoner had committed and the social class he belonged to. The last descriptive images of the ancient techniques of
Hobaku-Jutsu are found in Matsumoto Castle (in
Nagano prefecture in Japan). Those violent and cruel techniques began to be eventually used for esthetic and personal pleasure purposes. The first illustration of
Hobaku-Jutsu being used for pleasure purposes comes at the end of the Edo period. That is when Japan began to open its doors to the world and
western ideas and concepts reached
Japan. From that time until the present, that method of continues to be used to create pleasure and beauty. Rope had been a symbol of power and control over women in the form of
fantasy and play--before the status and roles of Japanese women changed.
During World War II, the Japanese came into contact with Germans and learned the concepts of the West and legacy of the Marquis de Sade. These were added to the ancient art, its symbol of power, hemp ropes, and the artistic concept of beauty and the art form that we know today as
Shibari came into being. In the 1960s Japan, the popularity of this art form increased to the point that special theatres were created for it. In Tokyo the public would pay to see a
Nawashi Rope Maestro tie up a Dorei or M-jo, a woman. The Master would pick a
woman from the crowd, bind her, suspend her and
demonstrate shibari techniques in front of spectators.
(Related article: Myths
about Japanese women)
Next page: Shibari
in Japan
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