From agura to zuri. Here you will find the terms you come across in Shibari and Kinbaku, in class, in books and in the rope community. Most of them are Japanese. Some come from the history of rope and also describe historical tortures; they are listed here for context. The glossary explains terms; it is not a tying guide.
Jump to: A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · I · J · K · M · N · O · R · S · T · U · Y · Z
A
Agura shibari (胡座縛り): Tie in a cross-legged seated position, with the ankles bound together.
Aisatsu shibari (挨拶縛り): “Greeting tie”. A simple single-rope tie at the start, through which the rigger and the person being tied make contact.
Aomuke zuri: Suspension lying on the back, face upwards (aomuke = lying on one’s back).
Aranawa (荒縄): Literally “coarse rope”. Coarse rope made of straw, usually rice straw.
Asanawa (麻縄): Traditional bondage rope made of hemp or jute.
B
Bakushi (縛師): Short form of kinbakushi, see there.
Biginā (ビギナー, also Biginaa): Beginner. Loanword from the English “beginner”.
Bō shibari (棒縛り, also Bo shibari): Tie to a stick or pole. The name is also the title of a classical kyōgen play in which a servant’s arms are tied to a pole.
C
Chokuritsu fudō ippon shibari (直立不動一本縛り, also Chokuritsu fudou ippon shibari): Tie in an upright standing position in which the body is bound together like a single strand.
Chokushin shibari: Japanese name for the strappado, in German also called “Armflöte”. The arms are tied together behind the back, as an alternative to the upper-body harness (TK). WolfRope offers a dedicated workshop on it.
D
Deshi (弟子): A person who learns from a teacher in a close personal relationship.
Dō nawa (胴縄, also Do nawa): Rope around the torso.
Dōjō (道場, also Dojo): Literally “place of the way”; the practice room.
E
Ebi shibari (海老縛り): “Shrimp tie”. The body is curled up like a shrimp.
Ebi zuri (海老吊り): Ebi shibari as a suspension.
Ebizeme (海老責め): Torture of the Edo period. The neck and ankles were drawn together with rope so that the body was curled like a shrimp (ebi).
F
Furoshiki (風呂敷): Versatile cloth used to wrap and carry objects or to wrap gifts decoratively.
Futomomo (太もも): Thigh, literally “thick thigh”. Tie in which the lower leg is bound to the thigh.
Futomomo zuri (太もも吊り): Suspension using a futomomo.
G
Gasshō shibari (合掌縛り, also Gassho): “Prayer tie”. The palms are pressed together as in prayer, in front of the body. Behind the back it is called gyaku gasshō or haimen gasshō.
Gote (後手): Literally “hands behind”. Upper-body harness with the hands behind the back, often used synonymously with takate kote (TK).
Gyaku ebi shibari (逆海老縛り): Reverse shrimp tie, lying face down.
Gyaku ebi zuri (逆海老吊り): Reverse shrimp tie as a suspension.
H
Haji (恥): Shame, disgrace.
Hashigata zuri: Suspension whose shape recalls a Japanese arched bridge.
Hashira (柱): Post or pillar. In the Juku, a fixed suspension point.
Hashira shibari (柱縛り): Tie to a vertical post or bamboo, also as a suspension (hashira zuri).
Hayanawa (早縄): “Fast rope”. A short, thin rope and the quick, simple ties made with it during arrest in hojōjutsu.
Hazukashii (恥ずかしい, also Hazukashi): Embarrassed, ashamed, shy.
Hikuite: “Low hands”. The hands lie low on the back.
Hikyaku zuri: Suspension in an upright running pose, known in English as “running man” or “postman” (hikyaku, 飛脚 = courier).
Hishi gote: Upper-body harness with a diamond pattern.
Hishi shibari (菱縛り, also Hishinawa shibari, 菱縄縛り): Tie in a diamond shape. If the rope follows a hexagon, it is called kikkō.
Hojo hishi: Tie that combines techniques from hojōjutsu with hishi techniques. Attested in hojōjutsu is the double diamond niju hishinawa (二重菱縄).
Hojōjutsu (捕縄術, also Hojojutsu, Torinawajutsu): Martial art of arresting and restraining with rope. It is counted among the 18 classical martial arts of the samurai.
Hon kikkō (also Hon kikkou): Upper-body harness similar to the karada, but following the hexagonal pattern of a tortoise shell (kikkō).
Honnawa (本縄): “Main rope”. Formal, longer-lasting tie of hojōjutsu after arrest, for transport, interrogation and court, and for serious crimes also for public display. The pattern depended on the prisoner’s social rank.
I
Ichinawa: Minimalist, flowing style of tying with a single rope, usually without a fixed pattern. See also ippon nawa.
Ippon nawa (一本縄, also Ipponnawa): Tying with a single rope. The focus is on rope flow and dynamics.
Ishidaki (石抱き): Torture of the Edo period. The bound person knelt on a ridged board (soroban-ita), and heavy stone slabs were placed on their thighs.
Iwatonawa shibari: Tie in which ropes around the ankles or thighs open the legs by tension.
J
Jiai shibari: Tie with the hands in front of the body, also called the “love you” tie.
Joshū (女囚, also Joshuu): Female prisoner, a term from historical depictions and scenes based on them.
Juku (塾): Japanese for private school. The private schools of the Edo period had their classroom in the teacher’s home. At WolfRope, the teaching space in Karlsruhe.
K
Kaikyaku (開脚): Spread-leg position.
Kami shibari (髪縛り): Hair tie.
Kani shibari (蟹縛り): “Crab tie”. Arm and leg are tied together on each side, and the person sits bent forward. With the legs spread: kaikyaku kani shibari (開脚蟹縛り).
Kannuki (閂): Literally “bolt”. Wrap between arm and upper body that locks the rope bands in place, for example in the takate kote (cinch).
Karada (体): Literally “body”. In the West the name for a body harness. It is not a Japanese name for a tie; the diamond pattern is called hishi.
Kata ashi kaikyaku: Spreading one leg with rope.
Kata ashi zuri (片足吊り): Suspension in which one leg is lifted and suspended, either as a partial suspension while the person still stands on the other leg, or as a full suspension.
Kata-tekubi shibari (片手首縛り, also Katate kubi shibari): Tie of a single wrist.
Kinbaku (緊縛): Literally “tight binding”. Japanese rope art, often with a focus on its emotional and aesthetic side.
Kinbaku-bi (緊縛美): “The beauty of tight binding”.
Kinbakushi (緊縛師): Master of kinbaku. Short form: bakushi.
Kokoro (心): Heart, also mind and spirit.
Koryū (古流, also Koryu): Literally “old school, old style”.
Koshinawa (腰縄): Hip rope.
Kōtōbu ryō-tekubi shibari (後頭部両手首縛り, also Koutoubu ryo-tekubi shibari): Tie in which the hands are brought over the head behind the neck (“bunny ears”).
Kubi zuri: Literally “neck suspension”. Usually a neck tie whose remaining rope is attached to a suspension point. In Japanese, 首吊り (kubitsuri) is also the ordinary word for hanging.
Kurushii nawa (also Kurushiinawa): Deliberately uncomfortable rope.
Kuzushi nawa (崩し縄): Deliberately asymmetrical or “untidy” rope, an idea borrowed from calligraphy.
M
Ma (間): “Space, pause”. In kinbaku it stands for timing and the space between actions.
Matanawa (股縄): Crotch rope.
Matazuri (股吊り, also Matanawa zuri): Partial or full suspension in which the crotch rope helps to carry the load.
Menkyo (免許): Licence by which a school certifies that someone may teach its style.
Mizuzeme (水責め): Water torture, recorded in Japan since the Sengoku period. It was not one of the four officially regulated tortures of the Edo period.
Momo shibari: The name is read in two ways. As 腿縛り (momo = thigh), a tie on the thigh, similar to the futomomo. As 桃縛り (momo = peach), a “peach tie”: kneeling, the hands are passed between the open legs and tied to the ankles.
Muda nawa (無駄縄, also Mudanawa): Literally “useless rope”. A leftover rope end that is worked in purely for decoration.
Musubime (結び目): Knot.
N
Naka style: The style of Naka Akira (奈加あきら), a Japanese kinbakushi from the school of Nureki Chimuo. He is often associated with semenawa.
Nawa (縄): Rope.
Nawa ato (縄痕): Marks that the rope leaves on the skin (rope marks).
Nawa etsu: The joy of rope.
Nawa kai (also Nawakai): Literally “rope meeting”. A format going back to Naka Akira: an intimate tie between two people in a small setting, without a stage show, often with an exchange about kinbaku.
Nawa shibari (縄縛り): Rope bondage.
Nawashi (縄師): Literally “rope maker”. In the rope community a person of recognised skill in rope art, synonymous with kinbakushi.
Newaza (寝技): Tying on the floor. Originally the groundwork in judo and wrestling.
Ninoude shibari: Tie of the upper arms (ninoude, 二の腕) behind the back, similar to the TK but without rope around the upper body.
Nodome: Change of direction or stopper in a tie. It brakes the rope or leads it in a different direction.
Nonoji: Another name for nodome.
O
Osada Ryu (長田流, also Osada-ryū): School of Osada Steve, founded around 2008 in Tokyo. He studied with Osada Eikichi and with Yukimura Haruki.
R
Ryōashi zuri (両足吊り, also Ryoashi zuri, Ryo-ashi zuri): Upside-down suspension from both ankles tied together, for example with a double column tie.
Ryū (流, also Ryu): Style or school with its own teaching. Also part of school names such as Yukimura Ryu.
S
Sakasa zuri (逆さ吊り): Upside-down suspension.
Seme (責め): Literally “torment, pressure”. Deliberately creating pressure and tension in the tie.
Semenawa (責め縄): Literally “rope of pressure”. Tying style that works deliberately with strain, surrender and the experience of limits. Pain is not necessarily part of it.
Semisuspension: Partial suspension. Part of the body remains on the floor.
Sensei (先生): Teacher.
Shibari (縛り): Literally “binding”. In the West the common name for Japanese rope art, with a focus on the craft.
Shibarite (縛り手): The person who ties.
Shinju (真珠): Literally “pearls”. A name common in the West for a chest harness; the term does not come from Japanese tradition.
Strappado: See chokushin shibari. Originally a torture in which the person was hoisted by the hands tied behind the back.
Suspension: Tie in which the person being tied is lifted completely off the floor.
T
Takate kote (TK) (高手小手): Standard tie of the arms behind the back and the basis of many suspensions.
Tasuki (襷): Ropes crossing over the shoulders and back, named after the cord used to tie up kimono sleeves.
Teppō shibari (鉄砲縛り, also Teppo shibari): “Rifle tie”. One hand is brought onto the back from the side, the other over the shoulder, as if carrying a rifle.
Tsuri (吊り): Suspension. In compounds it becomes “zuri”, as in sakasa zuri.
Tsurinawa (吊り縄): Rope that connects the tie to the suspension point and carries the load.
U
Ukete (受け手): The person being tied, literally “the receiver”.
Ushiro takate kote (後ろ高手小手): Full name of the takate kote; “ushiro” means “behind”.
Y
Yoko zuri (横吊り): Sideways suspension.
Yukimura Ryu (雪村流, also Yukimura-ryū): School of Yukimura Haruki (1948–2016), who taught from 2006. It is known for an attentive, “caressing” rope and floor work.
Z
Zuri: See tsuri.
