1.1 Eroticism and desire: concepts for erotic shibari

We start with a basic question: what do we mean by shibari? We review the origins of the terms shibari and kinbaku and establish an operational definition of shibari as the erotic art of Japanese bondage, the foundation on which the entire course is built.

Estimated reading time: 12 minutes.

What “erotic” means in the context of shibari: how eroticism and sexuality relate to each other, why there are no universal techniques or responses, and what it means to understand shibari as a way of managing desire, far removed from any repertoire of sexual techniques.

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes.

To talk about sexuality in a shared language, we define the basic concepts we will use throughout the course and explain how asymmetry is understood in the style of shibari we teach.

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes.

Academic definitions take on meaning when we bring them into our own experience. We look at what erotic experience is, why each person’s eroticism is unique, and how we can cultivate it through fantasies and behaviors.

Estimated reading time: 11 minutes.

Personal responsibility covers whatever lies within our room for maneuver; understanding what it involves and taking it on allows us to recognize, in each interaction, what we can act on for safer and more satisfying shibari.

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes.