Shibari: eroticism on a tightrope

Shibari means «to tie», «to bind» in Japanese. Akin to BDSM, this practice originated in the torture techniques of the samurai. Now practiced in clubs all over Europe and Japan, shibari has joined the realms of performance art and so-called wellness sports, such as yoga, breaking away from sadomasochistic sexual practices. So, how and why did eroticism creep into shibari, and finally escape?

Shibari was originally somewhat like our own pillory. In the 16th century, rather than tying a wrongdoer to a post to humiliate them in public, the Japanese developed an entire art of binding their enemies to immobilize them. The knots had to be beautiful, well-made, and, above all, designed so as not to injure the person being bound. The goal was to torture them through im