This glossary was compiled with the help of authoritative sources (*), with the addition of some terms I learned over the years and with a good dose of linguistic research. It’s just a list of common terms and, since most of the names of bindings are descriptive and kanji used for it can change meaning depending on the context, is not carved in stone. It also does not claim to be exhaustive even though I will try to constantly expand it with explanatory images and new terminologies. If you are aware of terms and/or if you find errors/discrepancies in those listed, please let me know by mail (andrearopes@gmail.com).
(*) thanks to Ropemarks, Master “K”, Tatu, Stefano Laforgia.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A
Agura/agoura shibari: Generalized term for any crossed-legged position tie (similar also to ashi ura shibari).
Akechi Denki: Sep 11, 1940 – Jul 17, 2005 (64 years)
Arisue Go: Born in 1954, Nawashi.
Aomuke zuri: Any face up suspension.
Aranawa: Rice rope.
Asanawa: Traditional Japanese style bondage rope made in natural fiber and with a very loose coil compared to normal ropes. Normally shibari ropes are made in jute or hemp, from 7 to 8 meters long and between 4 to 8 mm width. A knot is usually tied at each end to prevent the ply to unravel and for facilitate the joining of another rope but also these knots could be used to secure the tie without using a real knot simply wrapping the ropes around the tie itself . Ropes to be used for shibari need to be treated, every nawashi use different methods for treating their ropes to increase their suppleness and longevity.
B
Bakushi: Shot for kinbakushi.
Battendome: Cross friction (es: the friction used to close the upper wrap in a tk style Osada, Kanna, Kinoko, etc).
Bo shibari: Tied to a pole.
C
Chikubi: Nipple.
Chitsu: Vagina.
D
Daruma: The Daruma doll, also known as a Dharma doll, is a hollow, round, Japanese traditional doll modeled after Bodhidharma, the founder of the Zen sect of Buddhism. These dolls, though typically red and depicting a bearded man (Dharma), vary greatly in color and design depending on region and artist. Though considered an omocha, meaning toy, by some, Daruma has a design that is rich in symbolism and is regarded more as a talisman of good luck to the Japanese. Daruma dolls are seen as a symbol of perseverance and good luck, making them a popular gift of encouragement. The doll has also been commercialized by many Buddhist temples to use alongside goal setting.
Daruma Shibari: Very challenging position, the person is bound and bent with the torso between/on the legs and arms tied wrapping her thighs. In the final position, the person seems to have no legs and no arms remembering the Daruma dolls.
Deshi: General term for student, pupil. In shibari, the meaning is more like a teacher’s student helper, an assistant, a person so passionate and skilled who could take the master style to a next level/generation. Examples of Sensei/deshi are Akechi Denki/Kanna nawashi and Chimuo Nureki/Akira Naka.
Do Nawa: Waist rope, specifically the rope used to support the waist in a suspension.
Dojo: a room or hall in which judo and other martial arts are practiced. Often the term is associated also to shibari because of its descent from hojojutsu.
Dorei: Literally, “slave”. “Dorei” is a word Japanese borrowed from Greek to denote ancient eastern European slavery. Slave play in Japan is actually really rare, and is to harsh a term for most “rope submissives” to be comfortable with.
Dorei no Jotai: condition of being a slave.
E
Ebi shibari: The “shrimp” or “prawn” tie, due for the final shape. One of the oldest traditional kinbaku ties. The subject is bound in a cross-legged sitting position and their chest and head are folded over and bound to the legs. This became excruciating in time, creating a burning sensation in the spine radiating throughout the body.
Ebizeme: Ebi- shrimp, zeme (comes from seme- torture). To be punished by being tied in the ebi (“shrimp” or “prawn”) tie was a form of torture that was mandated by the Tokugawa shogunate in 1742 as one of 7 official punishments for criminals and enemies of the state.
Ebizuri: ebi- shrimp, zuri (comes frome tsuri- suspension), suspension in ebishibari position.
Edo: The Edo period (江戸時代 Edo jidai) or Tokugawa period (徳川時代 Tokugawa jidai) is the period between 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when Japanese society was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country’s 300 regional daimyos. The period was characterized by economic growth, strict social order, isolationist foreign policies, a stable population, popular enjoyment of arts and culture, recycling of materials, and sustainable forest management. It was a sustainable and self-sufficient society that was based on the principles of complete utilization of finite resources. The shogunate was officially established in Edo on March 24, 1603, by Tokugawa Ieyasu. The period came to an end with the Meiji Restoration on May 3, 1868, after the fall of Edo.
F
Fundoshi: Japanese traditional underwear. Consisting of a piece of cotton is tied to the body, through the crotch, forming a kind of thong that leaves the buttocks in the air. traditional measure 2.5 meters x 36 cm.
Futomomo shibari: Futomomo means literally, thigh. Futomomo shibari is a tie that involves the thigh.
Futomomo zuri: it’s a suspension using futomomo shibari tie.
G
Ganji garame: Mummification rope. Any tie which completely imprisons the body.
Gote: hands behind. Gote shibari is a tie with the hands tied in the back (by extension, also Ushiro takate kote can be considered as a gote).
Gyaku-ebi shibari: It’s a reverse shrimp (ebi) tie, very similar to the western hog-tie. This tie has the hands and feet tied behind the back.. Some call this the “Japanese Hog Tie”.
Gyaku-ebi zuri: Suspension in a Gyaku-ebi shibari.
Gyaku shakuhachi shibari: Shakuhachi (flute) in reverse, so a kind of strappado.
H
Hakodome: It’s a friction in the shape of a box. With this term generally is indicated the “double half-moon” friction which closes the 2° wrap in the Osada Steve TK.
Hanazeme: Nose torture. Usually with a hook attached by a rubber band that pulls the nose back.
Hashigata: Shaped like a Japanese bridge. See also: Aomuke zuri.
Hashira shibari: “hashira” means pillar, post, pole. So this a vertical tie using an “hashira”.
Hibarimusubi: Hibari- skylark, musubi- knot. Commonly known as “Lark’s head knot” is often used for join ropes.
Hikyaku zuri: Hikyaku is the postman. Also known as “running man” suspension (zuri), the person is tied as the shape “hikyaku” has in traditional drawn.
Hishi shibari: This tie comes from early hojojutsu techniques and creates diamond (hishi) shapes. Hishi shibari refers to any diamond shaped body weave such as the improperly called”karada”. It’s also known as “Hishigata” or “Hishi nawa shibari”.
Hishi Gote: It’s a gote shibari with diamond shape patterns in the front.
Hojo hishi: Combination of hojojutsu techniques with the hishi pattern.
Hojojutsu: Hojōjutsu (捕縄術), or Torinawajutsu (捕縄術), or just Nawajutsu (縄術), is the traditional Japanese martial art of restraining a person using cord or rope (said nawa 縄 in Japanese). Encompassing many different materials, techniques and methods from many different schools, Hojōjutsu is a quintessentially Japanese art that is a unique product of Japanese history and culture. As a martial arts practice, Hojōjutsu is seldom if ever taught on its own but as part of a curriculum under the aegis of the body of study encompassed by a larger school of bugei or budō, often as an advanced study in jujutsu. Whatever their source, Hojōjutsu techniques and methods are seldom demonstrated outside Japan.
Honmusubi: literally is the square knot.
Houchi: Leave as it is, leave alone. In the context of shibari this describes leaving the model tied to enjoy/suffer in the bondage predicament.
I
Ishidaki: Form of torture in which the victim kneels on triangular wedges (Soroban, like abacus) and stone slabs are placed on their lap.
Ito Seiu: Seiu Ito (伊藤晴雨 Itō Seiu), also romanized as Seiyu Itoh (3 March 1882 in Tokyo – 28 January 1961 in Tokyo) was a Japanese painter, recognized today as “the father of modern kinbaku”.
Iwato-nawa shibari: A tie where the model’s genitals are exposed by spreading the legs wide with ropes around the ankles and/or thighs. The source for this name is found in the Japanese creation legend of the sun goddess Amaterasu, where she is lured out of hiding (near a place called Iwato) and returned sunlight to Japan and the world.
J
Jiai shibari: Jiai- kindness, love, so literally is the tie of love. The person is tied in a “hugging” position.
K
Kagerou shibari: Dragonfly, the arms straight tied together in the back with an hishi pattern in the between. A kind of strappado.
Kaikyaku kani shibari: Kaikyaku- with the legs spread, kani- crab. So it’s a spread-legged-crab-tie. The model wrists and forearms are tied to the respective ankles and legs, then the legs are further spread by tying the legs to anchor points.
Kami shibari: Kami means hair, so this term refers to any hair ties.
Kamoi: Means lintel. In traditional japanese house it’s the beam where the top of sliding doors (fusuma) or paper windows (shoji) can be inserted and slide. it’s really easy to find pictures of person tied up to the kamoi.
Kanna: Born in 1972, Nawashi. Akechi Denki deshi.
Kannuki: Means bar, bolt or latch. In the context of Japanese rope bondage this refers to a cinching (cinch) rope, locking wraps. Also know as the tome/tomei nawa (“stop rope”) or shibori nawa (“squeesing rope”).
Karada: Japanese word which simply means “Body”. A generalized term for any of a variety of body harnesses/rope dress.
Kariudo shibari: See also Teppo shibari.
Kata-Ashi zuri shibari: One leg suspended. Any of a number of styles of one leg up suspensions. It can be performed with the subject standing and balancing on the leg not raised, or even with the subject lying on the floor.
Kata-Ashi Sakasa zuri shibari: Simply, the kata-ashi zuri shibari but upside down, so it means suspended up-side-down from one leg.
Katate kubi shibari: Literally, one hand tie.
Kazami Ranki: Nawashi. (May 23, 1962). He is known as the “Atrocious Nawashi”.
Kazari nawa: Decorative rope. Generally made “burning” the leftover rope in a specific tie.
Kikkou shibari: Tortoiseshell pattern binding. The Kikkou design is a six-sided shape found on the tortoiseshell, which is recreated with rope on the body. It is not a simple diamond body weave as an hishi shibari.
Kinbaku: Bind tightly; sexual bondage. The art of traditional Japanese bondage.
Kinbaku-bi: Usually translated as “the beauty of traditional shibari art.”.
That is, shibari done in the traditional manner for an aesthetic/erotic effect.
Kinbakushi: kinbaku = “bind tightly” and shi = “teacher; master; one’s mentor”. Generally defined as “Japanese Bondage Master”. Japanese is an honorific language… the use of “-shi” would imply a place of honor in the use of this word, yet honor is not something the master or sensei demands or gives to self, that would be regarded as arrogant. The student uses terms like these when they feel the teacher or mentor has indeed taught them something and indeed is deserving of such respect, not the other way around. So a rope master or sensei would not call himself a kinbakushi, nawashi, or sensei, others would refer to him that way in response to having learned from his ways.
Kiritsu: a command to stand up from seiza position.
Koryu: A Japanese term that literally translates as “old/traditional style”.
Koshinawa: koshi- hip, waist, nawa- rope, so it’s rope/structure that supports the hips during a suspension.
Koutoubu Ryo-tekubi shibari: A ryo-tekubi shibari (bound hands) with the writst in the back of the neck (Koutoubu). Also known as “Koutou ushiro te shibari”.
Kubi zuri: “Kuby” in this case means “Neck” so it’s a neck suspension.
Kuzushi nawa: A term used to describe kinbaku designs that are “calculatedly unstudied”, that is, deliberately and artfully unsymmetrical or even untidy. This term is taken from Japanese calligraphy and art and used to describe, for instance, the deliberately misshapen but exquisitely beautiful pottery sometimes used in the “tea ceremony”. This style of tying is of a high order and should never be confused with amateurism.
M
Ma: literally “interval and approach”. It is a term from martial arts which refers to the distance between opponents. It defines a complex concept that refers both to the space between rigger and model, which way the rigger approach it, and the rhythm or tempo of tying.
M-ji-kaikyaku shibari: literally M-shaped letter open legs binding. A classic seated ankle tied to the thigh making the model resembles the letter M with the open legs. Beyond the connection with the western letter of the alphabet, this binding is very ancient and is mentioned in some versions of Shijuhatte, the Japanese version of the Kamasutra, containing 48 sexual positions who arrived in Japan after 550 A.D., probably China.
M-ji-kaikyaku zuri shibari: Suspended from the takate kote with the thighs in front and spread.
Also called “M zuri”, “Ryo-ashi zuri” or “Kaikyaki zuri”.
M-Jo: Literally “m” is short for “maso” or “masochistic” “Jo” is a suffix literally meaning woman or girl or daughter. This is the most widely accepted term in Japan today for the one captured in rope. However, many stage performers are not in a relationship with the stage rigger and would be offensive being referred to as an “m-jo”, so some just refer to themselves as a “model”.
M-o: Male for M-Jo.
Marumusubi: Somerville bowline knot.
Mata zuri: Suspended from the crotch.
Matanawa: Generalized term for any pubic area tie or “crotch rope”. This binding is also improperly known as “sakuranbo”, cherry.
Meijin: master in sense of a skilled person.
Menkyo: Literally “license, permit, certificate”, so is a license to teach the Sensei’s style. This license is not given lightly, your level of understanding and executing Sensei’s style needs to be very deep and high in the eyes of the Sensei.
Miura Takumi: Nawashi, born in Himeji (Hyogo Prefecture) in 1960, died November 1st, 2021.
Mizuzeme: Mizu- Water, zeme comes from seme- torture, so Water torture.
Momo shibari: Momo means “peach”. This tie balances the model on her knees and upper body. The arms are pulled between the spread legs and the hands are tied to the ankles. See also: Kaikyaku kani shibari, the “reverse” of the momo shibari.
Mudanawa: Muda- Futility, uselessness, so is a term to describe strictly decorative (“useless”) rope.
Muganawa: Muga- Selflessness. the term refers to the practice of tying not for your own sake, but for the enjoyment of the person tied.
Munenawa: Breast/Chest bondage.
Musubime: Simply a knot. See also honmusubi or marumusubi.
N
Nawa: Rope.
Nawa ato: Ropemark.
Nawa kai: Kai- meeting, party but also association, club. So nawa kai is a rope club, in example, Kannawakai is the Nawashi Kanna rope club.
Nawa Sensei: Sensei- Teacher, master (honorific). One who is respected by others (students) as a teacher of the Japanese Rope. See also bakushi, kinbakushi, nawashi.
Nawa zuri: Suspension line.
Nawagashira: Gashira- head of… by extension head of the rope, so the bight.
Nawajiri: It is the tail of the rope, the end, the part not yet involved in the tie. In the Yukimura style, it’s the rope that controls the emotion and connects with the person tied.
Nawashi: A maker of rope; “Rope artist”; A person that has reached a certain degree of proficiency in handling nawa. If you are called Nawashi in Japan you are considered doing good, solid rope work. Expectations/standards for that in Japan are quite high not just “play” rope. According to the research of Master “K”, Yukimura believes that the best guess for the origin of “nawashi” is that Minomura Kou coined it in Kitan Club in the 50’s. See also bakushi, kinbakushi, nawa Sensei.
Newaza: From martial arts; Floorwork. See also “Yukawaza”.
Ninoude shibari: Tying the hands and upper arms behind the back without any of the rope passing around the body. The rope only goes around the wrists and the upper arms. Also known as “Jouwan gote shibari” and “Ude kake gote shibari”.
Nodome: dome- stopper; No-domeの留め or No-no-ji-domeのの字留め means stopper in the shape of No(の graphic sign for the syllable No in the Hiragana alphabet). Known also as “mounter hitch”. See also “Uranodome”
Nureki Chimuo: Born in Asakusa, Tokyo in 1930. Passed away Sep 9, 2013. Nawashi, writer and editor.
O
Osada Eikichi: Born on March 15, 1925 in Tochigi Prefecture, passed away September 12, 2001. He was 76 years old. Nawashi.
Osada Steve: Nawashi.
Oujou shibari: A tie where the model is tied kneeling to a vertical bamboo (hashira). The ankles are crossed and bound, spreading the legs.
R
Randa Mai: Nawashi.
Rokkaku: hexagon, the set of the various frictions behind the back of some takate kote (i.e. Osada Steve ryu 3TK).
Ryo-ashi zuri: Suspending your model with both (ryo) legs (ashi) together, i.e. binding both ankles together.
Ryo-ashi sakasa zuri: Suspension with both legs together from the ankles only.
Ryo-tekubi: Refers to the binding of the wrists together.
Ryou ashi gattai ichimonji shibari: Literally means legs bound together in a straight line.
Ryou ashi gote kakae shibari: Literally is binding the hands in the back embracing the legs. It’s a folded position where the person tied holds the legs with the arms, providing easy sexual access to the genitals. A tie best suited for a limber partner!
An original tie from the hand of Akechi Denki. See also: Daruma.
Ryu: style of …; method of …; manner of …; school (of thought). There is many different Ryu in example Osada Steve ryu, Naka ryu, Kanna ryu, etc, and when one of these nawashi is teaching you, you are learning his specific way.
Raibusho: Raibusho (ライブショ in katakana). The katakana alphabet is for foreigner words and Japanese people use it to mimic the sounds of these words. Of course is an approximation because a lack of letters ( they don’t have L and they replace it with R, in example). So Raibusho= Laivsho= Live show!
S
Sabaki: General term for the technique used by different rope masters to coil their rope prior to use or storage.
Sakasa zuri: Inverted suspension, the m-jo is hanging head down and the body vertical, not supported by a tsuri nawa on the takate kote.
Sakuranbo: Cherry. Used by some into Oriental bondage to refer to “tying up the cherry”
(a euphemism for tying up the female bottom in such a way that emphasizes the cherry/ vagina area).
Santen zuri: Suspended from the takate kote, then suspended by the ankles, with the ankles in front. Santen means “mountain top”, the model resembles the mountain peaks.
Sarugutsuwa: The word used for “gag”. A traditional gag is made from a tenugui. See also: Tenugui.
Semenawa: Seme- torture, nawa- rope; So it means rope torture.
Seito: A student of a particular person.It is a title that needs to be acknowledged by, i.e., the teacher (Sensei). Following a couple of lessons with someone does generally not qualify you as a Seito of this person. See also: Deshi.
Seiza: Traditional way of sitting, the “right way to sit”, “sitting calmly and quietly”. The first thing to do to sit seiza style is kneeling on the floor, resting the buttocks on the heels and the instep of the foot on the floor. Hands folded on his lap and back straight.
Sensei: Teacher, Master, Doctor; it’s an honorific title.
Shakuhachi: It’s the name of the Japanese traditional flute, but is also a binding with arms together tied in front of the body. A reversed shakuhachi is a strappado.
Shibari: Fabric weaving; Tying (“things”); The action of tying someone up. Since the evolution of shibari from tying techniques used solely for restraint and torture to sophisticated erotica has taken 100’s of years to mature, it’s natural that, for Westerners especially, the terminology can get a bit confusing. The word “shibari” to most non SM oriented Japanese simply means weaving!
Shikominawa: Shikomi- Preparation, it’s the rope used as anchorpoint for a tsuri. This rope is attached to the ceiling and lowered for attaching carabiner, ring, or the nawa zuri(‘s). Also known as “Tsuri shiro” (suspension castle/fort).
Shuuchi nawa: Shuuchi- shyness, shame; Rope for embarrassment.
Soroban zeme: the “abacus torture”, where the abacus is represented by a series of wooden strips with a sharp edge and the victim is made to kneel on top of them for a long time. See also Ishidaki.
Strappado: The term “strappado” comes from a medieval form of torture in which the victim’s hands were tied behind the back and, either by making him fall almost to the ground or by lifting him, his shoulders were dislocated or broken. There is no official term for it in Japan, although it is used by the Japanese and could be described as “ryo-ude ushiro awase shibari” (literally arm tied together behind back) or Ushiro tekubi shibari (wrists tied behind back).
The term is often used improperly when referring to the binding (armbinder), while on the other hand strappado is the use made of the binding itself.
Suruga-doi Shibari: A torture technique from the 16th-century Tokugawa; Hands and feet are tied behind the victim’s back, and they are hanged from the ceiling with a rock on their back. It’s a technique that could be used also in shibari but is really tough. Similar to Tanuki but in reverse.
T
Takate kote: See Ushiro takate kote.
Takenotsue shibari: Takemitsu or Takezo shibari – tying someone using a bamboo pole, a stick or a rod. There are endless variations of this ligation born in feudal Japan.
Tanuki zuri: Named after the raccoon dog/badger from many Japanese legends.
Originally tying the wrist and ankles close together in front of the body, then lifting the subject.
Overtime made popular by Randa Mai as inverted (face down) suspension from all four limbs.
You can do the tanuki without suspension, so you don’t need to mention tsuri.
Tasuki: The cord used to tuck up the sleeves of a kimono. “Tasuki shibari”, tying with a rope that crosses in front of the chest like a tasuki.
Tawara shibari: A “straw bag” tie. This resembles the way bundles of rice straw are bound.
Tekubi: Wrist.
Tejou shibari: handcuff tie, a simple rope cuff.
Tengu shibari: The “demon” tie, because the arms of the model are tied in a way so they resemble the wings of mythological demons from classic Japanese illustrations. Each wrist is bound to the respective upper arm, then each arm is pulled slightly back and bound to an upper-body tie.
Tenugui: hand towel, cloth typically used as gag or blindfold.
Teppo/Teppou shibari: Asymmetrical binding that takes its name from the shape that the arms take and that resembles a rifle (teppo) carried over the shoulder. Also known as “Kariudo shibari” (hunter). It is also possible to use it in suspension and the name will be “teppo zuri shibari”.
Tomoe: A technique (stop/twist) to change direction of a rope without the use of knots, it resembles a “comma”.
Torinawajutsu: Torinawa- rope for tying criminals, jutsu- art, means, technique. See Hojojutsu.
Tsuginawa: Tsugi- next, following. It’s a technique for joining two ropes to create one long rope, a rope extension.
Tsuka maki: Sword hilt wrap finishing; rope is wrapped around other ropes.
Tsukue shibari: General term for tying a model to a low table, preferably incorporating the table-legs as anchor points.
Tsuri: Any rope suspension. The second classic torture technique (tsurizeme from Tokugawa Japan, now evolved into a mainstay of shibari play and performance. Becomes “zuri” when preceded by another word. See also “tsurizeme”.
Tsuri nawa: The main suspension rope. See also: Nawa zuri.
Tsuri otosu: Suspension drops. Where you deliberately cut the main suspension line to let the model drop, head first.
Tsurizeme: Being bound and suspended by ropes. The fourth torture technique used during the Edo period. See also: Tsuri.
U
Uranodome: It’s a flippled nodome, so it’s has the flat part facing up.
Usagi shibari: (兎縛り), is a form of binding where the bound person has his arms folded over his shoulders and behind his head to represent two rabbit ears (usagi). Teppo and Usagi shibari are two forms of Wakizarashi (see).
Ushiro te shibari: Hands behind the back binding.
Ushirode-gassho shibari: Reverse prayer hands. Gassho, from Buddhism, means the hands pressed together with the fingers pointing upwards in prayer position. A tie usually referred to in English as the “reverse prayer tie.”. This tie is only for the limber! Known also as “Ushiro-te Kannon”.
Ushirode shibari: A tie on the back of the body.
Ushirode Takate-kote shibari (o Gote): The classic form of the box tie that is the building brick of almost all shibari-kinbaku ligatures. The arms are tied behind the back parallel to the ground with the elbows bent at right angles kept in position by turns of rope that pass above and below the chest. There are countless variants, from the simplest to the most complex. The sources that made reference to this binding are so many that over the years many ways of writing the name of this binding with Roman characters have become widespread. For example, sometimes it is simply called Takate-kote or Takate shibari, sometimes simply Go-Te, Gote or Kote shibari, sometimes even simply written Ushirotakategote. The main reason for this variety is that there are two schools of thought on this famous ligature. One of the two techniques is the one described above, the other is based on the fact that the term “Taka te kote” is used only for ligatures in which the hands are crossed high (taka) behind the back. A position too difficult for most people. For ligatures that use the classic shape with arms parallel to the ground, this second school of thought prefers to use the term Go-te, Gote or Kote shibari.
Ushirotakategote Isujyou-M-Ji Kaikyaku shibari: Tying to a chair. The classic chair tie where the hands/arms are bound in a Ushirode Takate-Kote and the legs/feet are pulled up, spread and tied to the two arms (or sides) of the chair so that the subject resembles the letter “M”.
Ushirode Tasuki shibari: Tasuki is a kimono string. The ushiro tasuki shibari is a hojojitsu inspired bondage and named after the tie/pattern to tuck up the sleeves of a kimono. In this pattern the hands are tied in a “W” position on the back and an “X” shape is created between the breast.
Ushiro-te Kannon: Kannon is the goddess of mercy, so this tie mimic the goddess in the act of praying but with the hand tied in the back. See also “Ushirode-gassho shibari”.
Utsubuse zuri: Any face down suspension.
W
Wabi sabi:
- A Japanese philosophy that extends into all parts of life based in Zen and built on three principles: nothing lasts, nothing ends, and nothing is perfect.
“Wabi” means a deliberate humility, a lack of materialism, and a deep connection with the environment. “Sabi” literally translates as “bloom of time”. Together “wabi sabi” is the beauty of things “imperfect, impermanent and incomplete”. There are seven principles of Wabi-Sabi:
– Fukinsei; asymmetry and irregularity. – Kanso; simplicity. – Koko; basic, weathered. – Shizen; without pretence, natural. – Datsuzoku; unbounded by convention, free. – Seijaku; tranquility. – Yugen; subtly profound grace, not obvious
Wadome: Like a Nodome, same shape, but made the otherway around.
Wakizarashi: (脇晒し), is a situation of complete surrender with exposed armpits, that cause deep embarrassment for the Japanese. Teppo and Usagi shibari are two forms of Wakizarashi.
Waranawa: Rice straw rope. See also Aranawa.
Y
Yoko zuri: yoko literally translated means, “side”. This term refers to being suspended in a sideways position.
Yotsunbai: literally Doggy style.
Yubi kake shibari: finger binding.
Yukata: Summer kimono.
Yukimura Haruki: (1948-2016) Nawashi, video producer. Motto: Ude ha nawa, nawa ha nawa, the arm is a rope, the rope is a rope.
Yukawaza: Yuka- floor, stage; Waza- Technique, art, skill. So, floor technique. see also “Newaza”.
Z
Zazen shibari: Tied in the Buddhist prayer position where the monks sit crossed-legged (Indian style). See also: Agura shibari.
Zenpou takate shibari: High hands in front tie. See also: Jiai shibari.
Zuri: “Tsuri” becomes “Zuri” when it is preceded by another word indicating the type of suspension, i.e. Yoko Zuri.