Catalina says: Tonight I asked Riffraff to join in this discussion because he has real life experience to share. First off let me say that with all my research one thing came through clearly. Safety is paramount in using rope bondage It's not to be taken casually.

Riffraff says: Especially with this.

Catalina smiles.

Catalina says: It requires a high degree of expertise. If not you will have a dead or damaged subbie. What I found is that this is an ancient art that did indeed have its beginnings in Japan I have seen references that date it back as far as the 1400's but not for the same purposes that we do here and now. Originally rope bondage was used to capture criminals. Some good illustrations of rope bondage were found during the Edo period in Japan. Edo was the old name for Toyko. The samurai warriors trained their helpers in the art in order to capture prisoners without dishonor. During that time no knots were used because knots were humiliating when the person had not been brought to trial yet. The rope was looped in intricate ways to prevent escape. This type of bondage was called Hojojutsu. The practitioners used silk ropes for practice and hemp for actual capture.

There were four rules that were followed in hojojutsu. They are:

1. Not to allow prisoners to slip their bonds.

2. Not to cause mental injury.

3. Not to allow others to see the techniques.

4. To make the result beautiful to look at.

Riffraff says: I have set up a web page for this with, but first off I want to expand on a few things. In the pictures that are on the page you will notice the rough, hemp rope. I cannot stress this enough ..... while it is traditional DO NOT START WITH THIS.

Riffraff says: all those with web browsers go to http://members.theglobe.com/gaeschl/irmain.html

Riffraff says: The pages will be left up. Japanese Bondage is hard to explain without visuals. Some general safety tips before we go on. Traditionally Japanese Bondage is done with Hemp rope. DON'T recommend this. The main reason is that some forms can take several hours to do and the rope tends to cut. Make sure that your rope is in good condition.

taken asks: What materials for rope do you recommend?

Riffraff says: I use boat line for several reasons. It is soft. It is strong, and it is easily maintained. Also make sure that there is a knife or something similar handy in case of an emergency. [Editor’s Note: Iron Rose recommends paramedic shears]

taken says: Sorry for the talkativeness =) Paramedic's shears would be helpful... they have one edge like a spoon to keep from digging into and accidentally cutting flesh, and they're strong

Riffraff says: I cannot stress this enough, this isn't the usual bondage. Know your knots before this and take it SLOW. So on to the first page. Go to http://members.theglobe.com/gaeschl/breast.htm for for those on the main page click on the breast bondage link.

Riffraff says: O.K. Shinju is the most basic form of Japanese Bondage. Shinju or "the Pearls" is Breast Bondage. There are several ways that this is done but most commonly it is a series horizontal across the body above and below the breasts or a kind of wrapping of the breasts in rope. The bonds are done tight but not to cut off circulation. Shinju is generally a starting point for further bondage ;)

Catalina asks: Does it restrict breathing?

Riffraff says: It could if the bonds were too tight. That is the danger of the horizontal bonds. As with any bondage watch the sub closely. The closeup of the breasts shows how intricate the rope work is.

Riffraff says: Keeping that in mind the next page to look at is http://members.theglobe.com/gaeschl/crotch.htm.

Riffraff says: Mata Nawa is the only close to official name for it that I can think of. Notice that the rope placement is REAL deliberate ]:) There is a reason for this. If you notice the A. pic there is a knot in the rope. If done right that length of rope would be attached to the breast bondage, so that in moving the chest the knot would rub over the clit but at the same time would tighten the breast bindings.

Shadowlady asks: Im noticing the women wearing panties, is this usual?
Catalina says: I think the panties were left on for modesty
Riffraff nods
Shadowlady says: I agree
Ariannah asks: I was wondering if you have any examples of Japanese Bondage and men and if anyone here has had experience with same?

Catalina says: Most pictures I have seen show the sub nude. Some that were done in a demonstration were with a body suit on. I have a resource that shows men. I’ll give that out at the end ;)

Riffraff says: This subject is almost too involved for just a hour, but MK will have a link to the page and I will expand on it some.

Catalina says: Many of the sites on the web are just thinly veiled porn sites but I found a few excellent ones that I would like to share. Tammad has some detailed how to pictures on his web site that are very informative. Each has a picture and a write up. The address is: http://ms.ha.md.us/~tammad/over21/   From there go to "bondage and me." Then click on "scene photographs." He shows the before and after effects of tight bondage plus many how to's.

Catalina says: Another site that I used for research is: http://www.webcom.com/jikatabi/hojo.html Richard Cleaver put up this site for gay men but it give s the history and some Japanese drawings of bondage. He gave permission to reference his site with one warning. His request is that only gay males that are masochists contact him via the email on that site.

Catalina says: One other site is http://www.soj.org/Feb5.html. This site is the Society of Janus and there is a review of David El there.