Telling apart the concepts of style, school and ryu can be confusing. In this article we offer a summary to serve as an introductory guide.
Terminology
As usual, let’s start by clarifying a few concepts.
In the shibari community, terms such as style, school and ryu are often used interchangeably to designate different currents. Sometimes these are grouped around well-known figures; at other times, because they share certain aesthetic or technical elements.
Below we define these terms to make them easier to understand in the context of this article.
Ryu
The term ryu comes from Japanese and is associated with tradition and the concept of “lineage,” especially in the martial arts and other fields of Eastern study.
In shibari, a ryu refers to a body of techniques, forms and rules that emanate from a recognized rigger and are passed on through a hierarchical structure of disciples and instructors.
Knowledge thus flows from the “source” to the students, who adapt and pass on the original techniques. Each ryu may have its own grades, structure and characteristics, depending on its founder’s approach.
Some have a single “student-successor” (deshi, 弟子); others establish different instructor grades, in the manner of the martial arts, and others simply distinguish between instructors and students.
In practice, these ryu can also work as differentiation strategies, serve to structure training or set up recognition systems for students. Some change over time and, in any case, this is not a model that extends to every branch of shibari, nor is it necessarily linked to ancient traditions.
There is no “official college” of shibari, but there are riggers who have developed their own style and have authorized schools and certified trainers, with a scheme similar to that of martial arts dojo: their own levels and teaching methods. That is the main formal difference between these schools and other ways of teaching shibari. In addition, the continuity of a ryu and the involvement of several people allow them to define, polish and evolve techniques with the experience of all their members.
In Japanese SM publications, ryu is often used simply to name a rigger’s personal style. Itoh Seiu was already using it in 1961, and it appears in titles by Nureki Chimuo, Randa Mai, Marai Masato (2009) and in a 2020 course devoted to Yukimura Haruki’s style.
Joryu (女流, “in the feminine style”) is used to identify some female riggers, such as Hourai Kasumi. Rather than an organic ryu, joryu is a term applied to shibari when it is performed by women. There are also very small ryu, such as the Randa Mai Ryu, which sporadically maintains a single practitioner.
School or dojo
The word school, in English, can refer to a current that shares a model or a training methodology, regardless of a specific style or canon.
In shibari, this term usually groups together teaching centers that may share instructors or a training line, but without necessarily following a strictly hierarchical or canonical style.
In the West, spaces devoted to teaching shibari that have one person as a permanent instructor—and usually as the person mainly responsible for the project—are generally known as schools or, in some cases, as dojo.
The steady presence of a teaching figure is one of the things that sets a school or dojo apart from a “rope space,” where there is usually no one in charge of teaching, or different instructors are invited to give workshops and training. In these cases, those in charge of the space deal mainly with management and programming, but not necessarily with training.
Style
A style in shibari is a way of tying that shows similarities in its methods or results, whether in technical or visual terms or in relation to the purpose of the practice.
- Example: the Akechi style refers to the shibari developed and used by master Akechi Denki. One of its main characteristics is the use of locks or knots to hold the tension of the ties, creating a structure with a central “trunk” from which different lines of tension branch out.
These conventions help organize the information in this article, although on social media and in other contexts the terms will appear interchangeably.
The main shibari styles
Akechi
The Akechi style, named after the historic Japanese rigger Akechi Denki, is technically characterized by finished rope patterns and closed techniques, with a strong focus on show, as it was understood in the Tokyo nightlife of the eighties.
This style has influenced riggers such as Hajime Kinoko, Yagami Ren, Osada Steve and Akechi Kanna, the style’s current representative. Obviously, it is a style its creator can no longer develop (he died quite a few years ago), so, despite the efforts of those close to him and of his successor, Akechi Kanna, it lives on as a recognizable legacy in other styles.
Aibunawa
Aibunawa (愛撫繩), which can be translated as “caressing rope,” is a shibari style developed by Yukimura Haruki. It seeks tenderness and subtlety in restraint, seeing rope as a vehicle for connection rather than a display of technical virtuosity.
It is a style developed mainly on the floor, which puts careful attention and intention ahead of the complexity of the ties.
Osada
This is a style that seeks symmetry and meticulous control of the rope. It is characterized by a modular, reversible construction: each suspension line is independent and adjustable, and the load is introduced gradually and verifiably.
Visually, it relies on a geometric, symmetrical aesthetic, built on a recurring technical base such as the takatekote. It also uses rhythm, intuition and a near-meditative state of mind. Its knowledge is passed on mainly orally and through practice, from master to student, rather than through manuals.
It had its moment of expansion outside Japan a few decades ago, but the popularity of semenawa has partly pushed it into the background.
Sekibaku
It focuses mainly on erotic play and minimalist forms of tying, in which efficiency in applying the technique plays a prominent role. This logical, efficient approach reduces dependence on pre-established figures and rope patterns.
It also places the person at the center of the session, putting both parties on the same plane, with balanced participation in terms of power, responsibility and involvement. That parity is the foundation from which it seeks the satisfaction of each individual experience within the erotic interaction.
Semenawa
Technically, semenawa stands out for its use of counter-tensions and irregular visual patterns, as well as generous use of rope and a distinctive handling of tension. Naka Akira is undoubtedly its best-known exponent.
The focus is on the intense sensations of each participant and on a particular holistic approach to shibari. In its application, it makes recurring use of various forms and patterns: the mermaid, the basket, a distinctive gote, twists and hashira (tying to a post) are some of the techniques associated with this style.
What sets one style apart from another
The differences between two ryu rarely come down to a detail of the ties, such as the way a gote is closed. The elements that mark a style are more complex and deeper, and they can almost never be recognized by looking only at the rope pattern.
For Yukimura, for example, the goal was to offer the person being tied a space for their own mental and erotic adventure. For other riggers it may be developing a very personal connection, or taking someone to the edge of desire and beyond.
That is why it is better to look at philosophies than at patterns: at what each rigger is trying to achieve. Looking only at patterns is like examining a builder’s toolbox to work out what buildings they put up. What matters is not the tools they have, but how they use them.
The suffix “-kai”
In Japan, some schools or groups adopt the suffix -kai, which can refer to a group or association of people. Among the best known is Ichinawa-kai, by Hajime Kinoko, which teaches traditional shibari with stage and artistic applications.
The name contains a play on words: the kanji 一 is read ichi, “one” or “the first,” but also hajime, like its founder’s name. Ichinawa-kai (一縄会) is at once “the one-rope club,” “the best rope club” and “Hajime’s rope club.”
Normally, kai refer to more informal or less structured gatherings or groups. So nawakai can be translated as “rope group,” bakukai as “riggers’ group” and kenkyukai as “study group.”
The differences between kai, style and ryu in shibari may seem subtle and, at times, also respond to questions of organization or differentiation.
As a rigger defines and develops their style, it is common for it to end up adopting the terminology and structure of a ryu in order to preserve and pass on their technique and approach over time.
For example, Tenma Haru presents his approach both as “Tenma Style” and as “Tenma Ryu” (天馬流) as he gains students and instructors in Japan and develops his activity in other countries. So it is not unusual for “ryu” and “style” to be used interchangeably.
If a study and working group lasts over time, it will possibly end up adopting a terminology and structure typical of a ryu to preserve certain forms, techniques and approaches, whether original or evolved.
In theory, ryu require canonical use of techniques and develop according to a specific methodology and purpose. In other words, it is not enough for certain techniques to resemble or be inspired by others; they must be applied in accordance with the form and purpose established within that system.
In practice, however, there is some flexibility, which means the boundaries between these concepts are not always clear-cut.
That is why these categories are best not understood as watertight compartments. Shibari is a dynamic, constantly evolving field in which leading riggers frequently collaborate on stage or video projects and share knowledge and techniques. This exchange allows the different approaches to evolve and take on elements that can contribute to their development.
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