--- title: "Lectures" description: "Shibari history and cultural context, safety based on scientific studies, well-known ties and basic concepts." image: "https://shibari-dojo.online/images/categoria/og-lectures.webp" --- # Lectures Texts on shibari that trace its **history and cultural context**, from the evolution of the practice and its materials to its journey from the Japanese underground to the Western mainstream. This section also includes a **formal introduction to the best-known ties and the basic technical concepts** every practitioner should be clear about before starting to practise or study. **Safety in shibari is addressed through reports and scientific studies** that explain the main risks, the harm an uninformed practice can cause and how to prevent it. ## How to assess the quality of jute rope for shibari ![How to assess the quality of jute rope for shibari](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/lectures/lct0501en_sq.webp) Beyond personal tastes and preferences, there are a number of parameters that let us **objectively assess the quality of a jute rope** for use in shibari. [Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/lec-en/lct-05-01-en.md) ## Shibari basics: rope maintenance ![Shibari basics: rope maintenance](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/lectures/lct0408en_sq.webp) We update this article over the years because, with time, both materials and experience evolve, and **it is worth reviewing what used to be taken for granted**. [Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/lec-en/lct-04-08-en.md) ## Shibari basics: rope and water ![Shibari basics: rope and water](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/lectures/lct0407en_sq.webp) Plant-fiber rope has a love-hate relationship with water. [Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/lec-en/lct-04-07-en.md) ## Shibari basics: S and Z twist ![Shibari basics: S and Z twist](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/lectures/lct0406en_sq.webp) When you look at a rope folded in half, with the middle pointing up, the fibers trace a spiral. Depending on which way that spiral rises, the twist is called S or Z. [Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/lec-en/lct-04-06-en.md) ## Shibari basics: finishing rope ends ![Shibari basics: finishing rope ends](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/lectures/lct0405en_sq.webp) The way rope ends are finished tends to be each rigger’s signature or hallmark, showing their preferences, tastes and distinguishing touches. From simple overhand knots to elaborate plaits, through whipping or even metal pieces, in this article **we analyze their functionality and the pros and cons** of the main options. [Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/lec-en/lct-04-05-en.md) ## Shibari basics: safety ![Shibari basics: safety](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/lectures/lct0404en_sq.webp) For anyone who comes to this discipline out of curiosity, safety is among the first things they ask about. [Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/lec-en/lct-04-04-en.md) ## Shibari basics: the floor ![Shibari basics: the floor](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/lectures/lct0403en_sq.webp) When you ask yourself which surface is best for shibari practice, the answer comes out almost without thinking: *tatami*, of course. Yet that certainty fades as soon as we look at it closely. **Technically, *tatami* is one of the least suitable options.** [Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/lec-en/lct-04-03-en.md) ## Shibari basics: hon musubime ![Shibari basics: hon musubime](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/lectures/lct0402en_sq.webp) ***Hon musubime* (本結び目) is the base knot of shibari**: one of the oldest and most widespread knots in the world, found in tied parcels, bandages, garbage bags and even shoelaces. Everyone has tied it at some point. And precisely because of that, everyone thinks they know how to tie it. [Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/lec-en/lct-04-02-en.md) ## Shibari basics: the rope ![Shibari basics: the rope](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/lectures/lct0401en_sq.webp) Rope is the first thing that captures our attention when we come to shibari. The geometric shapes, the way it is applied, that mix of erotic sophistication and natural simplicity it conveys fascinate us immediately. Perhaps that is why students are so surprised when we tell them they **don’t need rope**. [Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/lec-en/lct-04-01-en.md) ## Tengu shibari (天狗縛り) ![Tengu shibari (天狗縛り)](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/lectures/lct0303_sq.webp) The playful, lecherous little Japanese goblin lends its name to this technique, characterized by the arms bent at the sides of the body with the forearms pointing upward. [Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/lec-en/lct-03-03-en.md) ## Gote shibari (後手縛り): technical application ![Gote shibari (後手縛り): technical application](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/lectures/lct0302en_sq.webp) *Gote shibari* (後手縛り) is a very efficient restraint technique, but it can also be dangerous if its technical function and mechanisms are not understood. [Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/lec-en/lct-03-02-en.md) ## Gote-type forms ![Gote-type forms](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/lectures/lct0301_sq.webp) *Gote* (後手) is the generic name of one of the most popular and recognizable forms in shibari. [Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/lec-en/lct-03-01-en.md) ## Movement of the humerus ![Movement of the humerus](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/lectures/lct0205en_sq.webp) Moving the arm backward, as is typically done in gote-style forms, can cause several shoulder problems if it isn’t done properly. [Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/lec-en/lct-02-05-en.md) ## Neural mobility ![Neural mobility](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/lectures/lct0204en_sq.webp) In our classes we have noticed that some students experience sensations such as tingling in the hands or mobility problems during practice, with no apparent cause. In this article we explore possible causes and explain how to prevent them. [Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/lec-en/lct-02-04-en.md) ## Pelvic spasms in shibari: when technique becomes a risk ![Pelvic spasms in shibari: when technique becomes a risk](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/lectures/lct0203en_sq.webp) Every so often, videos appear that show—or, worse, teach—shibari techniques that provoke pelvic spasms. [Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/lec-en/lct-02-03-en.md) ## Hypermobility and shibari ![Hypermobility and shibari](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/lectures/lct0202en_sq.webp) Hypermobility is a condition in which the collagen fibers of those who have it differ from everyone else’s, which, among other things, gives them a much greater range of movement. [Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/lec-en/lct-02-02-en.md) ## Acute radial compressive neuropathy ![Acute radial compressive neuropathy](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/lectures/lct0201en_sq.webp) In May 2023, the **medical journal Cureus** published a paper on nerve injuries in shibari practice. [Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/lec-en/lct-02-01-en.md) ## Yukimura Haruki as a filmmaker ![Yukimura Haruki as a filmmaker](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/lectures/lct0109en_sq.webp) Beyond his recognition as a kinbaku master, **Yukimura Haruki** (雪村春樹) should also be remembered as a **creator** with a personal vision that was, in its day, radical. [Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/lec-en/lct-01-09-en.md) ## Harutokyo, Kanna, Jubei and Matsui: Saikatsu’s testimony ![Harutokyo, Kanna, Jubei and Matsui: Saikatsu’s testimony](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/lectures/lct0108en_sq.webp) **Saikatsu**’s testimony, translated from Japanese, on the **Bakuyukai** and the people around it: Harutokyo, Kanna, Jubei, Matsui and Kitagawa. [Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/lec-en/lct-01-08-en.md) ## Yukiseme (雪責め) – Torture in the snow ![Yukiseme (雪責め) – Torture in the snow](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/lectures/lct0107en_sq.webp) **Yukiseme (雪責め)** is one of the classic scenes or themes of shibari, inherited directly from classical Japanese theater and printmaking. [Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/lec-en/lct-01-07-en.md) ## Generational change and new figures ![Generational change and new figures](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/lectures/lct0106en_sq.webp) The effects of the lockdown and the halt to public activities caused by COVID hit the Japanese professional shibari industry extremely hard. [Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/lec-en/lct-01-06-en.md) ## Shibari’s arrival in the West ![Shibari’s arrival in the West](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/lectures/lct0105en_sq.webp) Were the Victorian “English discipline” and “French vice” decisive for the flourishing of shibari as such in early twentieth-century Japan? Are the fetishization of the exotic and Jap-exploitation relevant elements in shaping the way bondage is understood and lived in the West? [Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/lec-en/lct-01-05-en.md) ## The evolution of materials in shibari ![The evolution of materials in shibari](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/lectures/lct0104en_sq.webp) Historically, there is no specific material associated with the practice of shibari. Everything suggests that each practitioner used whatever they had to hand. [Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/lec-en/lct-01-04-en.md) ## Origin and history of shibari ![Origin and history of shibari](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/lectures/lct0103en_sq.webp) What we now understand as shibari (縛り) originated in Japan in the first decades of the twentieth century. It was born as a subgenre within the porn industry, and it was after the Second World War that it began to attract Western attention. [Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/lec-en/lct-01-03-en.md) ## Cultural assimilation in shibari themes ![Cultural assimilation in shibari themes](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/lectures/lct0102en_sq.webp) In this article we look at the proliferation of images that imitate greeting cards or typical seasonal scenes as Christmas approaches. [Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/lec-en/lct-01-02-en.md) ## Nawa shigusa (繩しぐさ) ![Nawa shigusa (繩しぐさ)](https://shibari-dojo.online/images/lectures/lct0101en_sq.webp) In 2014, **Shigonawa Bingo** published a text inspired by the civic rules of the Edo period, adapted to the world of shibari. [Read more...](https://shibari-dojo.online/lec-en/lct-01-01-en.md)