Shibari 101: Hogtie

Welcome to Shibari 101, your chance to learn the building blocks of Japanese rope bondage! If you missed them, check out shibari’s history, rope basics and safety, and brush up on the foundational single- and double-column ties, basic chest harness, and a leg tie.

Today, we’re going to take two ties we’ve learned before and combine them into a hogtie. A hogtie places your bottom on the floor, face down, in either a chest harness (which we learned already) or a box tie which includes the wrists. Then, the ankles are secured to the chest ties and pulled in tightly. This tie is safer than tying the ankles to the wrists in a more Western-style hogtie as the weight of the legs is distributed across the chest instead of putting pressure on the sensitive wrists. You can either do a simple double-column tie on the ankles, or get more decorative with tying both legs into the leg tie we learned earlier.

Start by tying a chest harness on your bottom. Be sure when you extend rope for this tie that you don’t have any knots right in the sternum or areas on the chest that might hurt once your bottom lies chest-down. Lay your bottom down on their belly. If you’d like to incorporate their arms, either use a new rope or the ends of the leftover rope from the chest harness and tie a single column tie around the wrists. Make sure the inside of their wrists are touching to keep the sensitive inner wrists protected. Then, tie a double column tie on their ankles.

Next, take the ends of the ankle ropes and pass them through the center column (spine) of the chest harness. Go over and do not include the ropes used to tie the wrists (if tied), so that pressure isn’t being applied to the wrist tie.

Then go back and loop the rope through the bight at the ankle, and around back through the center column/spine again.

Tighten the tie until snug, but don’t make sure your bottom isn’t overextended and super uncomfortable. Tie off with a half hitch.

And secure with another half hitch.

If you find the rope places too much pressure on the wrists, you can try tying it around the top of the chest harness instead. Pass the ropes behind both shoulder ropes, right above the top knot, and tie off the same way.

If you want to be more decorative and use the leg ties instead of the double column tie, you’ll need a new rope to do a single column tie around both ankle ropes to the chest harness. Use that new rope to tie to the chest harness with the same pulley system as the tie above. You can even use two different ropes and tie the ankles apart so the legs aren’t tied together.

Resources & Continuing Education

If you want to learn more, check out these books and resources:

Miumi-U Teaches Japanese Shibari. Miumi-U is a Japanese shibari rope artist who trained extensively in Tokyo. Her book is beautiful and she’s clearly a very skilled artist. This book is more advanced.

Essence of Shibari: Kinbaku and Japanese Rope Bondage. Shin Nawakiri was also extensively trained in Tokyo. His book is excellent and more advanced.

Shibari You Can Use and More Shibari You Can Use. Lee Harrington is trans guy and the books are very gender-inclusive and easy to understand.

The Beauty of Kinbaku. This book dives deep into history, theory, etc, and is light on instruction.

Midori is a Japanese-American sex educator who has been teaching Japanese bondage since the 1990s. She does traveling workshops; check the schedule over at ropedojo.com. She also has a book, The Seductive Art of Japanese Bondage.

Hitchin’ Bitches is a female and trans/genderqueer (all genders but cis men) rope top monthly workshop held all over the world. Cis men are allowed only as bottoms and only if they understand it’s not a space for them. Find your local chapter on FetLife. It’s also a great way to meet local rope folks in your city.

Shibari 101: Leg Tie

Welcome to Shibari 101, your chance to learn the building blocks of Japanese rope bondage! If you missed them, check out shibari’s history, rope basics and safety, and brush up on the foundational single- and double-column ties and basic chest harness.

Start a leg tie, which will immobilize one leg, by tying a single column tie on the ankle. It looks cleaner if you start the single column tie by spiraling the bight down the ankle, instead of up, so the working ends are on top. Once you’ve tied the single column, push the bottom’s shin to bring the ankle as close to the lower thigh as you can. (Note that, because it leaves most of your body and your arms free, this is a really fun tie to practice on yourself.) The muscles of the leg will relax as the bottom sits in this tie, and often the ropes will get slacky and loose if you do not do this step.

Next, spiral the working ends up the leg, making sure the first wrap is low on the thigh. Depending on the size of your bottom’s leg you can do anywhere between two to four wraps here (you can also extend rope and do as many as you want!). You can try with three as shown, and if you find you have run out of rope before the tie is done, back up and try with two, etc., or if you have too much left over rope, back up and try with four.

Pass the final rope of your spiral over itself on the inside of the knee. Bring your finger through the triangle you just created, and grab the rope and pull underneath. Use your other hand to pinch where the ropes cross so they don’t slide. Take the working ends and bring them over the top rope, and then under the left rope.

Repeat this knot on each rope working down the spiral, including the bottom rope. Pass the working ends through the leg and around to the other side.

On the outside of the leg now, pull the working ends to cinch tight. You’re going to repeat this knot again on the outside of the leg, but this time backwards, as your working ends are now running up the leg instead of down. Bring the working ends up over the bottom rope, back down on the right, then over the bottom rope, and back up under the left.

Repeat this step on each rope of the spiral until you get to the top.

On the top rope’s knot, finish it off by bringing the working ends through the loop, so they reverse direction and go back down the leg again.

If you have leftover rope, you can twist it around the stem. Tie it off with a hitch and tuck the ropes around the stem or between the leg.

You’re done! Next week, you’ll learn how to combine a few different shibari ties together.

Shibari 101: Basic Chest Harness

Welcome to Shibari 101, your chance to learn the building blocks of Japanese rope bondage! If you missed them, check out shibari’s history, rope basics and safety, and brush up on the foundational single- and double-column ties. Today we’re doing a shibari chest harness tutorial.

In shibari, a chest harness can stand alone or act as a base to secure other ties. This version is simple, but you can get more complicated and decorative with it once you learn it.

Shibari Chest Harness Tutorial

First, position the bight at the center of your bottom’s back, and wrap the rope once around your bottom below the chest and draw the working ends through the bight. Make sure the part that crosses over is in the middle of the back on their spine. The ropes should be snug, but not so snug your bottom can’t breathe.

Bring the working ends back around the front of their body again, going in the opposite direction. If you don’t switch directions the rope won’t stay tight and will fall off the body. When you get back to the center of the back again, pull the working ends up through the loop you just created on the opposite side of where you pulled the rope from — the side with the doubled-over rope. Make sure the ropes are not crossed and line up neatly.

Reverse direction again and bring the working ends around the body one more time, this time above the chest. Wrap the working ends underneath the rope stem (in this case, the section of rope that goes vertical along the spine).

Reverse direction around the body one last time, making sure your ropes are above the previous wrap of ropes and lay flat and neat. Bring the working ends through the loop created by reversing direction — the side with the doubled-over rope.

Take the working ends and bring them over the shoulder to the front of your bottom, and bring them over the top ropes in front then under the bottom ropes. Pinch the bottom ropes together so they don’t lose their shape while you reverse direction with the working ends. Bring them back up and under the second top ropes. You’ll probably need to extend the rope at some point here (see the bottom of the page.) Make sure the knot is in a comfortable place for the bottom. You can move the knot a bit down the first rope if not.

Bring the working ends over the other shoulder and around to the back of your bottom. Pass them over the top right ropes, and up diagonally between the top left ropes and the left shoulder rope, as shown.

Bring the working ends over both shoulder ropes, and under the right top ropes.

Make a half hitch on the stem. A half hitch is made by making a loop in the working ends, bringing the ropes over the stem, behind the stem, and back through the loop. Pull to tighten. You can wrap your excess rope around the stem, and/or weave it up the shoulder ropes in a figure-eight weave, or leave the rope length to tie to an additional arm or leg tie, or tie it to a hardpoint (not for suspension).

Congratulations, you’ve made a basic shibari chest harness!

Extending Shibari Rope

You’ll need to extend rope when you run out. This is one of several ways to do this.

With your second rope, make a loop with your hand by putting your hand inside the bight, grasping the ropes, and pulling the bight over your hand. You’ll have a loop, which is called a lark’s head knot.

Put the first rope’s ends into the lark’s head and tighten. If your ropes have knots at the end, you can bring the lark’s head knot down to the knots and stop here. If you have whipped ends, or you feel like it, continue to the next step.

Make sure the lark’s head is not at the very end of your first rope, and there’s about 5″/12cm of ends left. Bring both sides of the first rope together and roll the knot up.

That’s it!

Shibari 101: Single- and Double-Column Ties

Welcome to Shibari 101, your chance to learn the building blocks of Japanese rope bondage! Today we’re doing single and double-column shibari ties. If you missed it, check out the introduction for history, rope basics and safety.

Single- and double-column ties are the foundation for many more complicated shibari ties, but they’re also fun on their own. Whether you plan to use these shibari ties alone or turn them into something else, mastering these two ties is extremely important. Once you’ve worked them out, practice them over and over until you can do them without even thinking.

Single-Column Shibari Tie

A single-column tie is probably the most common shibari tie. A column is a thing you’re tying: a leg, a waist, a chair rung, a bed post. Below, I’ll demonstrate on an arm. Make sure your bottom takes off any wrist jewelry/watches first.

First, find the bight (center) of your rope. Wrap it around the wrist (above the joint) twice, leaving room for a couple fingers to slip between the rope and the wrist. Cross the bight over the working ends (the two ends of rope opposite the bight).

Tuck the bight underneath all the ropes. It’s better to always reach under and pull rope instead of pushing it through because it’ll retain its lay (twist pattern) better and not get out of shape.

Make a loop with the working end and pull the bight through. If the result does not create a knot and just falls apart, try bringing the bight through the other side.

Create yet another loop and bring the bight through again. Pull tight on the knot — it shouldn’t tighten on the wrist at all, and you should still be able to slip a couple of fingers between the ropes and the wrist. That’s it!

Remember:

• There should be room to move the wrist within the shibari tie, but not enough to slip the hand out of the tie. You should be able to slide a couple fingers underneath the ropes.
• There should still be some length of bight left, to keep the knot from coming undone. It’s better to have a bit too long of a leftover bight loop as a beginner — you can work up to having it look trim and perfect after you master the tie.
• The four ropes along the wrist should not twist or overlap each other, as this would create too much pressure in one spot.
• The tie isn’t at the very end of the wrist but instead is a couple inches up from the hand and the knot is on the outside of the wrist, not on the sensitive inner wrist, to reduce chances of nerve damage.

Using The Bight As A Pulley

You can also use the bight as a pulley system to secure your bottom to something else in a safe way that doesn’t add any excess pressure on the ropes around the wrist, the knot, or the wrist itself. This is not a safe way to hold weight, so if you do tie overhead, make sure your bottom holds up their own weight and doesn’t hang from their wrists, which could cause serious nerve damage.

To use the bight as a pulley, first wrap the ends of your rope through a hardpoint (typically a hook or loop in the ceiling you can tie to), or around a bed post or whatever else you can think of, and then come back and thread the rope through the bight, then back through or around your point and tie off all the ropes together in a double half hitch.

Double-Column Shibari Tie

A double column ties two columns together. I’ll demonstrate here on two wrists, but you can tie a wrist to an ankle, an ankle to a chair leg, a wrist to a thigh, a wrist to an upper arm with the arm folded, rendering the arm unable to be used, or an ankle to an upper thigh with the knee bent.

Start by finding the bight or center of your rope. Wrap it around both wrists twice. Make sure to leave a lot more slack on your bight than you did for the single column tie.

Cross the bight over the working ends at the top and center of the wrists. Pass the rope through the wrists and behind both sets of the ropes and then back to the front. Unlike the single-column tie, which just wraps the bight under the top set of ropes, the double-column tie wraps the bight over both the top and bottom sets of ropes. The rope goes between the two columns, over both sets of ropes, and back up again.

Make a loop with the working end and bring the bight through. If it does not create a knot and just falls apart, try bringing the bight through the other side.

Create yet another loop and bring the bight through again. Pull tight to lock the knots. The knot should not tighten on the wrists at all, and you should still be able to slip a couple fingers between the ropes and the wrists, but not so loose that the hands can slip through.

Practice, Practice, Practice!

Practice your single and double column ties over and over again, on chair legs or your ankles, until you no longer think about it and can do it automatically. It’s very important to get good at both of these before moving on to more complicated ties.

Shibari 101: Let’s Talk About Japanese Rope Bondage

Welcome to Shibari 101, your chance to learn the building blocks of Japanese rope bondage! Today, you’ll learn history, basics and safety.

For me, the methodical repetition and precise structure of rope bondage is calming. As a rope top, no matter what else is going on in my life, I have to be present to focus on the ties, the bottom I’m tying up, and the tone of the encounter. I get off on the bottom both giving up control and having fun.

For a bottom, being restrained can also feel very calming. A lot of bottoms feel relaxed and blissed out while in rope. One told me: “I like giving over control to the top, letting them do whatever they want to me and feeling their power as they tie. I also really like the sensation; the pain and restriction feel exquisite.” Another said: “As someone who gets off on giving up power/control, I really enjoy the psychological sensation of being restrained, as well as the challenge of persevering through discomfort. That feeling of someone else/the rope controlling how my body is able to move is freeing to me; I don’t have to make decisions, I don’t have to be in control, but in a safe context. It’s soothing, and makes me feel focused and light and able to be very present.”

Playing with rope bondage is usually an emotionally intimate space to share. It can be rough and sexual, soft and non-sexual, or anywhere in between.

What Is Shibari?

Shibari (also often referred to as kinbaku) is a form of Japanese rope bondage. It differs from Western rope bondage a few ways: it uses non-stretchy natural fiber rope, either jute or hemp, instead of softer cotton, silk or polyester rope; it focuses on friction and wraps instead of knots; it uses the rope doubled over at the middle, a point called the bight, and works down toward the ends; and it has a deep focus on the aesthetic of the ties.

Shibari uses building blocks and repeated patterns that fit together to create ties. Once you learn these blocks and patterns and some basic safety, you can often figure out how to repeat a tie you see elsewhere. (You’ll learn several of these building blocks in the rest of this series.)

Shibari is derived from Hojojutsu, a martial art used in the Edo period (1600 to the mid-1800s) by the Samurai to arrest and restrain prisoners with rope. Often prisoners were publicly shamed by being displayed tied in ropes, which usually conveyed their class and crime, before execution or imprisonment. Hojojutsu died away at the end of the Edo period when the shogunate were overthrown.

People in Japan started to use the Hojojutsu ties for BDSM, and to play with the physical restraint and emotional shame of being tied. This art of tight and often painful sexual or sensual tying became known as shibari (decorative tying) or kinbaku (tight binding).

More recently, shibari has started to become popular in BDSM communities worldwide. While those who are not Japanese won’t be able to fully understand or experience the shame aspect of being tied, the complexity, efficiency and attractiveness of the ties themselves have earned appreciation for this style of rope bondage. Some of the most popular Japanese performers and rope tops even travel worldwide to perform on stage or to teach classes and workshops.

Unfortunately, with the worldwide growth of shibari, there has been some questionable copying or exoticising of the cultural aesthetic of the Japanese performances and photographs — non-Japanese people wearing kimono, or rope tops only tying small Asian women as rope bottoms, for example. Instead, practice the ties, be knowledgeable about and respectful of where they come from, and make the encounter be about you and your experience.

What About The Rope?

Jute and hemp are the most popular materials used in shibari. The rope is often seven to eight meters long, four to six millimeters thick, and usually consists of three smaller strands twisted together. Natural fiber ropes have more grip, a necessary quality here — shibari doesn’t use many knots, and its wrapping techniques require the rope have grip — and so are better than silk or synthetic ropes, which don’t hold friction well and can also lead to faster rope burn. In my opinion, natural fiber ropes also look better and the unyielding tension feels better for the bottom.

Jute and hemp rope must be treated before use by being boiled to soften, dried under tension to keep the correct shape, singed with flame to remove the fuzzies, and oiled so it’s not dry. You can buy raw rope and do this yourself, or you can buy pretreated rope. I recommend buying pretreated rope at first, but it can be fun to buy raw rope and condition it yourself in the future.

Some shibari rope. All these hanks are 8m long and 6mm thick. From left to right: linen hemp (raw, but does not need to be washed/singed/oiled), jute (raw, very stiff and needs treatment), jute (washed, but not yet singed or oiled), jute (washed, singed and oiled), jute, a tighter lay of rope (washed and singed), jute, same tighter lay (washed, singed and oiled), hemp (raw, very stiff and rough, needs treatment), and synthetic.

Where Do You Buy Rope?

• Esinem Rope (This is my favorite place to buy rope and the only place which carries linen hemp, which I love.)
• Jade Rope
• Twisted Monk
• Erin Houdini
• Kankinawa.com
• My Nawashi (Etsy)

How Do You Care For Natural Fiber Bondage Rope?

Rope often arrives with a single overhand knot at the ends to stop it from fraying. You can leave those knots as they are (and retie them when they come undone), whip the ends with some waxed thread, or make a more complicated knot. I whipped some of mine with a Sailmaker’s Whipping and used waxed sail thread, which has held up well with a lot of use. Store rope wrapped in bundles (hanks) so it doesn’t get tangled and twisted.

Cleaning your rope is not recommended, as you need to wash, dry, singe and oil it every time. Each time you repeat this process it weakens the rope’s fibers, which is very dangerous as it makes play unpredictable, and makes the rope unfit for suspensions. The best way to have clean rope is to not get it dirty. If you want to do crotch ties, I recommend setting aside a specific rope for that person for that purpose, or using synthetic rope that can go in the washing machine.

If your rope gets dry, oil it with jojoba oil. Just rub a few drops in the your palm and run the rope through your hands; don’t overdo it.

How to Tie a Figure Eight Hank

To tie rope in a figure eight hank for storage, first run your hands gently down the length of the rope to straighten it and pull out any knots, kinks or overwound tightness.

Then grasp the two ends with your right hand. Run your left hand about 10″/25cm down the rope and create a loop with your thumb. Bring your left hand up and create another loop with your right thumb the same distance down the rope. Alternate this motion until you have about 20″/50cm of rope remaining.

When you have about 20″/50cm remaining, tightly grasp the top of your rope bundle with your left hand.

Take the end of your rope and wrap it tightly around the bundle once. Wrap it one more time above the first wrap, to lock it in place so it doesn’t slip. Then continue wrapping a few more times below the top wraps, keeping the rope very tight.

On your final wrap, place your index and middle fingers over the wraps facing downwards. Wrap the final wrap over your fingers, and then bring it around and grasp the rope between those two fingers, and then pull it through. Either bring it all the way through, or stop half way to create a slip knot (shown).

Untying a hank is very fast and your rope stays nice and neat and untangled, and there’s no need to figure out where the bight is, as it’s the part you pull to untie the hank.

Safety for Both Partners

• Communication is important! Know and communicate your limits, experience and ability.
• Make sure you trust and are really comfortable with your rope partner.
• Make sure you are both sober.
• Always check in before the first time you play with someone — don’t assume they know what they’re doing or how to be safe. Make sure you both feel comfortable with each others abilities, and have hashed out what exactly you’re going to do before the rope comes out. Figure out and discuss ahead of time what your plan is, and what your boundaries are.
• Know and communicate your aftercare needs (cuddles, comfort, snacks, space, etc.) before you play.
• Have safety shears on hand just in case.

Safety for Bottoms (Tops, Read This Too!)

• Check in with yourself to make sure you don’t think you will be claustrophobic or panicky in rope, and are in a good mental state.
• Let your top know about any past or current physical injuries or conditions that might affect flexibility or cause pain.
• When you play, pay attention to any tingling, numbness, coldness or burning in your limbs, especially your hands and fingers, and notify your top ASAP. You are not being a good bottom by keeping quiet. You can do serious and potentially permanent nerve damage if you let that go for awhile.
• It’s okay to need out of rope — don’t be ashamed or embarrassed. Tell your top ASAP.

Safety for Tops (Bottoms, Read This Too!)

• Ask whether your bottom has any physical injuries or conditions that might affect the ties.
• Ask whether your bottom has any body parts they don’t want tied up, don’t want touched, have dysphoria with, or don’t want to accentuate. Ask if they have body parts they do want to accentuate.
• Before you tie someone up, look at and feel their hands to see the baseline color and temperature so you can notice later if they change color or get cold. If you notice color or temperature change, loosen a tie or do something else. Leaving a tie that cuts off circulation can lead to or mask nerve damage.
• Check in often with your bottom, especially if you’re new to playing together like this. Simply ask how they’re doing, or work out a way to check in without breaking the mood, such as grasping their hand and having them squeeze if they’re okay.
• Watch your bottom and make sure they’re communicating with you. If your bottom can’t speak (e.g., because they’re gagged), find another way for them to communicate.
• Don’t leave your bottom alone for more than a minute or two, and never be too far you can’t hear them.
• If your bottom experiences tingling or numbness, remain calm and supportive. Ask them to rotate their wrists or open and close their hands or wiggle their toes to get the blood moving, and if the area is still tingly, calmly and quickly untie them. Cutting the rope off is not unreasonable if numbness happens — especially if it happens quickly and in a localized area (like one or two fingers).
• Do tie rope over large muscle groups — upper arms, thighs, chest, hips.
• Do not tie under armpits, or put knots in the back of knee, inner wrists or inner thigh. Beginners should stay away from neck ties. Watch where you put knots because of the possibility of nerve damage.
• It’s your responsibility to learn some basic anatomy — where muscle groups are, where nerve bundles are, etc. — in order to tie safely.
• Hands are often the first thing to go numb/lose circulation so you may want to consider tying the wrists last.
• If your bottom needs out of rope ASAP, remove the ties as quickly and calmly as possible. Speak to them evenly and reassure them that they are safe. It may be helpful to give them something to do, such as counting backwards from 100 and focusing on deep belly breaths (not short chest breaths). If you can’t untie them fast enough, cut them out! Rope is replaceable. Once they are untied and calm, reassure them that it’s completely okay to want out before a scene is naturally over, and you’re not upset with them! It builds trust to communicate limits, and if your bottom wants to try playing with rope again, your support will make them more comfortable for next time.

Next week, you’ll learn the two ties that are the foundation of many others!