Shibari Ropes

What Is Shibari?

Shibari is a type of Japanese rope bondage that comes from the martial art of hojojutsu. Hojojutso was primarily used in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries by samurai who needed to tie up and restrain prisoners.

Hojojutsu became eroticized, much like handcuffs or shackles, and the erotic association continued after the samurai were outlawed in the mid-19th century.

Shibari differs from western bondage and BDSM rope in its focus on using wraps to restrain rather than knots. There's also a focus on the visual aspect of bondage.

Using Shibari in Kink Play

The most important thing in Shibari ropes, as in any kinky or sexual play, is consent. Whether you're a rigger (the person doing the tying) or the bottom (the person being tied), you should check in with your partner and yourself to make sure everybody's having fun.

Consider having a safe word or a word that means a hard stop when any partner says it. This helps to reduce ambiguity – a simple “no” could mean, “No, I need you to tie it looser,” or “No, I'm having a panic attack; stop now.”

Once you're confident, you can have endless fun with Shibari rope bondage. You can also incorporate toys, floggers, and paddles into rope play!

Using Shibari Safely

It's also important to do rope bondage sober. If you're too drunk or high to drive, you're too drunk or high for bondage rope play. Drugs and alcohol can inhibit your judgment and make it harder to determine if you're losing sensation in your limbs or fingers.

It's possible to accidentally pinch a nerve, so you should understand where to avoid tying ropes. Avoid ties across the middle of the forearm, where the radial nerve lies close to the surface. The bottom should also check in if they experience any loss of sensation.

And always, always, always have a pair of scissors in reach. If the bottom uses the safe word or experiences an extreme loss of sensation, they should immediately be cut out of their bondage rope.

Riggers and tops can use safe words, too, and the scissors can help if they're too anxious or confused to untie their bottom from their BDSM ropes.

Now that you have the basics covered, you can start with some simple Shibari knots like single and double-column ties. Keep your first sessions short, ideally under 20 minutes. Don't worry – you'll get faster with the knots as you go along.

Advantages of Introducing Shibari in the Bedroom

Bondage rope can be very sensual for both the rigger and the bottom. For the rigger, touching the bottom's skin and feeling their breath as they tie the knots can be highly erotic. Taking control over another person's body can also be arousing.

For the bottom, feeling the pressure of the rope and slowly losing the range of motion is generally the main draw. Losing control over one's body can be part of the fantasy, too. And the deep feeling of trust that BDSM ropes encourage between partners can feel good, too.

Taking Care of Shibari Ropes

Caring for your BDSM ropes will depend on what material they're made of. You should save the packaging for your restraints, as these generally include care instructions.

If you have hemp or jute BDSM ropes, you should only wash them if there's any human secretion on them. Otherwise, these ropes can just be aired out in between sessions. Hemp and jute can also benefit from being treated with a neutral oil like jojoba oil.

It's also worth learning how to properly coil your Shibari ropes. Take some time away from a session to practice coiling and uncoiling it.

Building Up to Shibari – Other Bondage Ties

In addition to bondage ropes, Joy Love Dolls also offers BDSM rope cuffs that can be used on the wrists and ankles. These might help you get the Shibari ropes experience without the anxiety of knot tying.

For more restraint play, you can also check out our handcuff collection!

Shibari Ropes are Great for Solo Sessions

Yes!  You can do leg ties and even a rope corset on yourself. There are a number of written and YouTube tutorials you can check out.

Shibari or rope bondage can be a great way to spice up a solo sex session, and practicing on yourself can make you faster and more confident at the bondage ties when you tie up a partner.

If you are doing solo Shibari, do it sober, keep your scissors within reach, and never tie yourself in a way that will incapacitate you.

How to Introduce Shibari in the Bedroom

Never spring Shibari ropes or bondage ropes on an unsuspecting partner. But assuming your partner is also interested in trying rope bondage play, you don't need much, at least to start.

A simple rope tie around the wrists or ankles can change both the mental and physical aspects of sex for both partners. Even something like a rope corset, which does not strictly impair the bottom's motion, can still change the sensations of sex and orgasm.

Many people also do Shibari and bondage ties without any explicit sexual play. They enjoy the mental and physical aspects of rope play apart from sex.

BDSM ropes can also be one part of a kink diet. It can be part of D/s (Domination/submission) dynamics. For a different twist on restraint, you can check out our collection of sex swings, too!

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