|
The origin of rope bondage as we know it is accepted as being in ancient Japan, originally (and still) ‘Hojojitsu’ referring to the restraint of prisoners. Japanese style rope bondage is known now as Shibari, Kinbaku, and other terms, it’s characterised by brown to yellow coloured ropes made from fibres such as Jute and Hemp.
Rope bondage practiced in Japan is directly and closely linked to these roots and many rope bondage practitioners in the west follow this also, though the styles of rope bondage vary hugely as do the types, lengths and thickness of the ropes used.
The purpose of tying someone up is, obviously, to restrain them, using a combination of ties to restrict the bodys movement, which can be as simple as tying hands together at the wrist, and ties to restrict the movement of the person as a whole, such as tying them to a fixed point. Ties to a fixed point that take the weight of the persons body so they lose contact with the ground or other fixed objects is known as ‘Suspension’, taking only a portion of the persons weight, often leaving only one leg in contact with the ground, is a ‘semi-suspension’ or ‘partial-suspension’.
As person who is so restrained is instantly vulnerable and this is one of the primary motivations of tying someone up, control over what happens to them is handed over as the person who tied them up can, in theory, do anything they like to them, thus all guilt for anything that happens is removed and they, in theory, are there for the sole pleasure of the other party. This is the role of bondage in much photography and art (erotica), as well as the reason it is practiced for most people.
Rope bondage is also an art unto itself, from the way a body is wrapped in rope, the patterns made as the rope merges with the limbs, to the interaction between two people during this process, for the more accomplished rope bondage practitioners this is usually also a (or the) major motivation.
|
|
