Shibari Dojo | Baku-Go (縛語)

Although reinterpreting does not mean justifying, changing the focus of attention does alter the way we perceive an image.

There is a deeply human reason why these processes are so difficult to reverse. Ambiguous categories generate discomfort. Our brain prefers clear answers: yes or no.

When an individual encounters a new situation—whether an image, an experience, or a story—they compare it with their prototypes, recognize it, discard it, or, in some cases, slowly modify their own categories. This is simply how we learn.

Communities do not think; people do, and all people share the same cognitive system.

Every community develops a collective imaginary. Over time, images, symbols, figures, objects, or historical episodes appear that come to represent the group’s identity—even if, originally, they never truly belonged to it.

The way riggers finish their rope ends tends to be something of a personal signature — a reflection of individual taste, style, and those little touches that set one person's work apart from another's.

The shibari style developed by Yukimura Haruki (雪村春樹) represents an approach to kinbaku in which the rope transcends its function as a mere tool and becomes a medium of silent communication.

This article unpacks Semenawa (責め縄)—exploring the concepts, approaches, and guiding principles that have transformed it into the leading form of shibari in the West over recent years.

Talk about communication in shibari is often clouded by vague buzzwords, wishful thinking, or even outright nonsense.

A clay bowl, made by a craftsperson in their workshop, is bought at a market for a few euros and used at home to eat soup.

That same piece, with the same material, the same process, and the same maker, is sold in a museum for several thousand euros and exhibited as a work of art.

Gote is the generic name for one of the most popular and recognizable forms in shibari. Virtually every style, school, and era has its own versions.

At our dojo, we don't rely on canonical "shapes" to teach shibari. Instead, we build from the style's foundational principles and basic techniques.

Nawasuji is the third pillar of study in the Yagami Ryu, shifting the focus from creating fixed shapes to using the rope as a tool for managing the body.

One of the core areas of training we offer at our dojo is the study of techniques that allow us to master and utilize our bodies effectively during shibari.

One of the three core areas of study in Yagami Ryu, and the first to be introduced in the training programs offered by our dojo.

In Yagami Ryu, there are two ways to apply technique: the fluid mode (Toginawa Keitou - 伽縄 系統) and the strict mode (Shoden Keitou - 初傳 系統).