---
title: "Glossary"
description: "Glossary of Japanese shibari terms with English translation, meaning and usage, Japanese script and standardised romanisation."
image: "https://shibari-dojo.online/images/categoria/og-glossary.webp"
---

# Glossary

Shibari uses **Japanese terminology**, and for those who do not speak the language this creates a double barrier: the meaning of each concept and its writing. On top of that, each author romanises Japanese in their own way, so **the same concept appears spelled in different ways depending on the source**.

 This glossary gathers the terms specific to the **Sekibaku** (責縛) style, which help to better understand the meaning of its techniques and concepts. We write them as they are pronounced: without macrons or signs foreign to our alphabet, with long vowels simplified and **always keeping the original kanji as a reference**.

 *Yogoshu* (用語集) means “glossary” or “compilation of terms” in Japanese.


## Yotsudome (四留)

It is the name of the knot that closes TK-type figures —*takate* or *kannuki shibari*— with four fixing points.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-355-en.md)

## Yokkyo Kairo (欲求回路)

**Literally:** “desire circuit”.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-350-en.md)

## Wakizarashi (脇晒し)

Its name describes the technique perfectly: “exposed armpits”.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-345-en.md)

## Ue no Nawa (上の繩)

It literally means “upper rope”.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-340-en.md)

## Toraeru (捉える)

Literally, “to capture”.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-335-en.md)

## Toginawa Keito (伽繩系統)

Within the Yagami Ryu, it refers to the fluid mode of applying the style. The term is inspired by the movements of fish in water.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-330-en.md)

## Tetori Sankaku (手取三角)

Known as the “triangle theorem”.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-325-en.md)

## Tenbindori (天秤取り)

Under this term we group the strategies and procedures we use to manage balance during the shibari session, for both the tied person and the person tying: the equilibrium between the forces acting on the body —gravity, one's own effort, external actions, the response of the ground—, so that they offset each other and the net result tends toward zero.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-320-en.md)

## Tasuki (襷)

It translates as “sash”, and it matches exactly the shape and function of the traditional Japanese back sash.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-315-en.md)

## Taijutsu (體術)

The term is formed by combining two characters:


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-310-en.md)

## Suwariwaza (座り技)

*Suwariwaza* —or what could be called *sit-jutsu*— essentially refers to the set of martial techniques performed from a seated position, such as *agura*, or kneeling, such as *seiza*.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-305-en.md)

## Suki Ma (隙間)

Literally, “gap” or “opening”; in the style it is understood as “blind spot”.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-300-en.md)

## Shuto (手刀)

It refers to the techniques that use the **edge of the hand** as a point of support.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-295-en.md)

## Shoden Keito (初傳系統)

Within the Yagami Ryu, it refers to the strict mode of applying the style, harder or rougher than *toginawa keito* (伽繩系統).


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-290-en.md)

## Shisei (姿勢)

*Shisei* (姿勢) refers to body posture, specifically to the **neutral anatomical position**.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-285-en.md)

## Shirasagi (白鷺)

It means “white heron” (egret).


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-280-en.md)

## Shiko (志向)

It means “orientation of desire”.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-275-en.md)

## Shidare (枝垂)

It is sometimes transcribed as *shibare* and other times as *shidare*.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-270-en.md)

## Semenawa (責め繩)

In its most literal sense, it can be translated as “torture rope”. Yukimura sensei defined it in these terms:


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-265-en.md)

## Sekibaku (責縛)

*Sekibaku* (責縛) is a term made up of two characters:


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-260-en.md)

## Seijoi Gote (正常位後手)

It is a colloquial way of naming a *gote* used in the Japanese porn industry in the missionary position.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-255-en.md)

## Sabisu to Manzoku (サービスと満足)

It means “service and satisfaction”.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-250-en.md)

## Sabaku (さばく)

It means “rope handling”.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-245-en.md)

## Oyo (應用)

It is the application of technique that arises from combining several “fundamentals”.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-240-en.md)

## Newaza (寝技)

It is the umbrella term for techniques performed on or starting from the floor, understanding that in these techniques the body is “horizontal”, that is, lying down or reclined.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-235-en.md)

## Nawasuji (繩筋)

*Nawasuji* is not a word in the strict sense, but a concept developed by Yagami Ren to designate one of the areas of study of his style. It is made up of two components:


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-230-en.md)

## Nawa Hoshi (繩奉仕)

It means “rope service”.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-225-en.md)

## Musubime (結び目)

*Musubime* (結び目) is a compound of 結び (*musubi*) and the suffix 目 (*me*).


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-220-en.md)

## Musubi (結び)

*Musubi* (結び), whose literal translation can be “bond”, “tie”, “knot” or even “conclusion”, is the nominalization of the verb 結ぶ (*musubu*): “to tie”, “to join”, “to connect”, “to bind”.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-215-en.md)

## Matanawa (股繩)

These are ties that pass the rope through the crotch.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-210-en.md)

## Maru (丸)

It is the circle that always brings you back to the starting point.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-205-en.md)

## Ma (間) - Maai (間合い)

These are two concepts of Japanese origin that, in the context of erotic shibari, provide a precise conceptual framework to describe both interpersonal space and the mechanisms that govern how erotic interaction begins and unfolds.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-200-en.md)

## Kyosho-gaku (急所學)

The term is formed by combining three characters:


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-195-en.md)

## Kuzushi (崩し)

*Kuzushi* (崩し) refers to the instant at which balance breaks.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-190-en.md)

## Kubi Shibari (首縛り)

*Kubi*, in Japanese, refers to three different areas of the body: the neck, the wrists and the ankles. In its culture of origin, these areas relate to the three places where the body narrows and, therefore, to the flow of mystical energies.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-185-en.md)

## Kote Tori (小手取り)

It is a term from aikido, used in the early formulations of the Yagami Ryu, which in the dojo we adapt as one of the fundamentals of *sekibaku*.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-180-en.md)

## Koshi Nawa (腰繩)

*Koshi* (腰) means “hip”, and *nawa* (繩), “rope”, so this term refers generically to all ties involving this area of the body. Other words are added as a prefix or suffix to designate specific ties or techniques, such as the *haya koshi nawa* (早腰繩), or quick hip harness, used to ease transitions in suspension and help distribute loads.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-175-en.md)

## Koden Shibari (古傳縛り)

古傳 (*koden*) means “ancient transmission”, “age-old tradition” or “ancestral teaching”.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-170-en.md)

## Kobetsu (個別)

*Kobetsu* (個別) literally means “individual”.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-165-en.md)

## Kihon (基本)

*Kihon* (基本) means, in this context, “technical fundamentals”.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-160-en.md)

## Kasei (嗄聲)

It is an application of the *ippon* (壱本) technique within the range of *kubi shibari* (首縛り) —*ippon* referring to the technique used, *kubi* to the area of application—, in which the arms are placed in front, close to the body, and the knuckles are restrained between the ropes and the neck itself, pressing on the throat.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-155-en.md)

## Kansetsu Waza (關節技)

It is the Japanese term for the set of restraint techniques that act on the wrist-elbow-shoulder joint complex.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-150-en.md)

## Kannuki Shibari (門縛り)

It is a torso harness characteristic of the Yagami Ryu.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-145-en.md)

## Kannuki (閂)

Translated as “brake” or “lock”, this technical application is often misunderstood as an aid to fix the tie in place or keep it from slipping out of position.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-140-en.md)

## Kankyu (緩急)

The Japanese term *kankyu* refers to tempo and rhythm in the context of shibari.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-135-en.md)

## Kaisho (開掌)

These are open-hand techniques for handling the rope.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-130-en.md)

## Kaeshinawa (返繩)

Literally, it means “reversed rope”, referring to the change of direction applied to the rope by laying it over itself. In shibari, this principle is what we know as “counter-tension”.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-125-en.md)

## Jutsu (術)

It means “method” or “technique”.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-120-en.md)

## Jo Fu (女風)

*Jo fu* —sometimes *ona fu*— is the colloquial, shortened name used in Japan for 女性用風俗 (*josei yo fuzoku*): “paid sexual services for women”.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-115-en.md)

## Ippon Bakumyo (壱本縛妙)

This term is used when, following Japanese aesthetic patterns (minimalism, appreciation of nature, emptiness, contrast...), we develop single-rope ties in which beauty comes first.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-110-en.md)

## Ippon (壱本)

Although in Japanese *ippon* is a counter used for long, narrow objects, and this technique is usually completed with a single rope, its name comes from a way of naming or scoring a technique in martial arts.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-105-en.md)

## Ikue Shibari (幾重縛り)

The term can be translated as “layered shibari”, since it refers to the technique of folding the rope to create several layers (or lines) at once.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-100-en.md)

## Hishi (菱)

*Hishi* (菱) means “diamond” (a rhombus); it is used when the ropes take on that pattern.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-095-en.md)

## Hikedame (ひかけだめ)

*Hikedame* (ひかけだめ), also read as *hikakedame*, is a quick, simple knot for gathering the rope so that it can be released easily with a single pull or movement.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-090-en.md)

## Hibari (雲雀)

Translated as “skylark”, it does not refer to the knot of the same name, but to the rope reinforcement applied on the forearms, especially in *gote*-type forms.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-085-en.md)

## Haru Chikara (張る力)

The term 張る (*haru*) means “to tense”, “to stretch” or “to activate”; in the anatomical context, it points to the muscles of the *core*.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-080-en.md)

## Gyaku Ebi (逆海老)

*Gyaku ebi* (逆海老), “inverted shrimp”, covers the figures in which the body arches backward: a back extension (*backbend*), not a flexion. It is also known as *gyaku ebi shibari* (逆海老縛り).


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-075-en.md)

## Gotori (五取り)

These are the five types of life line. Or rather, the five ways of connecting the life lines to the rope structure wrapped around the body.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-070-en.md)

## Gote (後手)

*Gote*, *takate kote* and *ushiro takate kote* are the names we commonly use for the most recognizable tie in shibari: “the *gote*”.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-065-en.md)

## Gekijo (劇場)

*Gekijo* (劇場) is a Japanese word meaning “theater” or “performance venue”.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-060-en.md)

## Fuzoku (風俗)

To understand the place of erotic shibari in contemporary Japanese culture, it helps to know the context of *fuzoku*, the commercial sex industry in Japan, within which certain *bondage*-related services have historically been framed as well.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-055-en.md)

## Futumomo (太もも)

Literally, “thigh”. This is the term and spelling used to refer to the strip of skin visible between a schoolgirl's stocking and her skirt.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-050-en.md)

## Fureru (觸れる)

It is one of the two terms used to refer to the technique through which different forms of communication and body management are established.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-045-en.md)

## Fuchin (浮沈)

*Fuchin* (浮沈) can be translated as “floating and sinking”, “up and down” or “ebb and flow” —like the tide—.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-040-en.md)

## Ebi Zeme (海老責め)

The term *ebi zeme* groups together different forms inspired by the classic immobilizations of prisoners: sitting in *agura*, arms behind the back and body compressed, bringing the face toward the feet.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-035-en.md)

## Daruma (達磨)

*Daruma* are Japanese dolls known for having no arms or legs; they are part of Japanese mythology and represent Bodhidharma.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-030-en.md)

## Dame Oshi (ダメおし)

**Dame Oshi (ダメおし)**: the closest translation would be “make sure twice”.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-025-en.md)

## Choryoku (張力)

**Tension**, both in the body and in the rope. The term is also used for muscle activation.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-020-en.md)

## Baku-do (縛道)

Literally, it can be translated as “the way of shibari”.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-015-en.md)

## Ashi (脚)

We use the kanji 脚 and the term *ashi* as a prefix or suffix to identify techniques involving one or both legs.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-010-en.md)

## Agura Shibari (胡座縛り)

A tying technique that, with the tied person sitting on the floor in the position known as *agura*, immobilizes their legs through counter-tension.


[Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/gls-en/glo-10-005-en.md)