When we first encountered Shibari vids, the first thought we had was, "wow this looks amazing." So naturally, we had to look it up. 

Here we'll talk briefly about the history of Shibari. "Shibari" means "to tie" in Japanese, and it originates from medieval Japan, where it first started as the art of restraining captives called "Hojo-jutsu". It was in fact, a method of imprisonment and torture. And then in the late 1800's and early 1900's an erotic type of Hojo-jutsu emerged, called Kinbaku. This is what is now known in the West as Shibari. 

The appeal of Shibari at a glance is the intricate ways of tying the submissive. How the ties are arranged in different ways. But of course, every fetish is so much more than its looks. So we decided to ask an expert. 

Here is El Luno. 

What exactly is Shibari?

Shibari is a form of Japanese SM. The main difference between just bondage and shibari. In Shibari, you mainly use ropes for giving pain and pleasure. A good Master knows how to do this with touching and squeezing of ropes. But shibari is not just about ropes. If we watch old Japanese pictures and videos, we will see also spanking, gags, different vibrators, bastinado, clothespins and many other.

Also interesting, is that in shibari a lot of it is about psychology and emotions. For example, shame. A girl is fully tied up, and you slowly take down her panties, not fully, but just enough to see the hairs on her pussy. And you just sit and enjoy the view. The girl feels emotions that you can see. You see that intimate part of her, and she is not able to do anything.

How did you get into Shibari?

Oh, it's my fairy tale. Once, I saw BDSM pics with tied up girls. Then I started to look for a Master. But in my eyes, that man had to be all for me: my friend, my Master, lover, all my life. After about 6 months I finally met that person. He is teaching me for now (more than 4 years). Now we have few girls, with whom we have kinky and friendly relationships. I must note that in the BDSM community is ok to ask a Master about a session. Of course, you must like each other. I can't tie up a girl if I don't feel sexual exciting about her. But we don't have to have sex. Pretty often shibari is enough for me.

What aspect of Shibari is the most important?

It’s the connection between partners. When you go into the Master's ropes, you need to trust him (or her) very wholeheartedly. You need to relax and do not think about how you look and so on. If you’re going to let a Master tie you up in different ways that trust is very important.

What are some tools that you need for Shibari?

I could talk about our studio: we have everything we need for any performance, like few cell points, beams, bamboo, ring, and even a wooden floor, where we can make new points. But actually, we need only one cut of rope for putting the girl in sub space.

In relation to risks of rope bondage such as cutting off blood circulation, what cautions would you advise on practicing Shibari?

First of all, if you want to tie up people, you need to know a lot about anatomy. On the body, we have only a few parts where a very tight tie is really dangerous. It is the nerve between the shoulder muscles and triceps and the neck. And then it depends on the person. You need to watch and learn your partner, talk after each practice. For all years of our practise, we had no trauma. A lot newbies are afraid of how quick the skin changes colour. Of course, we need to be clear and careful with that, but a lot of the time it is normal. Read about anatomy, and learn and talk with your partner.

Is it just about the bondage, or does Shibari involve any sexual acts?

Shibari is everything. I had a performance once, where the Master used only ropes and I got so many orgasms, as with a Hitachi. Each time it is a different practice. Sometimes I want just be helpless in the  Master's strong hands, sometimes I want slow sex ropes, sometimes hard SM ropes. If you have enough fantasy and using ropes is exciting for you, there are no limits. There is sexual excitement in it. I do not need penetration to cum. It’s a kind of mental sex.

What goes into making a good Shibari vid

We like to make it seem like you are sitting right in the room and watching it in real time. So we have no script, and just start going into it. In those vids I don't like to use hard or quick moves of the camera.

Also, close-ups are very useful because they can be used to catch subtle but arousing details. Like how the rope goes on the skin, how strongly Master's hands take the girl, and so on. Setting the right kind of atmosphere and letting our fantasy go as far as possible are also very important.

Thank you very much Luno! So, what are your thoughts on Shibari? Do you enjoy this fetish as well? Let us know in the comments below!

MV Team