Disambiguation

Shibari is used in Japan primarily as a general word for 'tying'; in Western usage it has come to denote the specific erotic and aesthetic rope tradition of Japanese origin. This entry treats Western Shibari as the latter, as practised outside Japan.

Western Shibari denotes the rope traditions that have grown in Europe, the Americas and elsewhere from teaching, publication and travel between Japanese teachers and non-Japanese students. It has developed its own vocabulary, aesthetics and pedagogy, sometimes closely aligned with a specific Japanese lineage and sometimes highly syncretic.

The exchange accelerated from the late twentieth century onward through visiting teachers, published photography and later through online instruction.

The relationship between Western Shibari and Japanese Kinbaku is a subject of ongoing conversation, ranging from careful lineage preservation to explicit reinterpretation.