NSFW. Shibari is the ancient Japanese artistic form of rope bondage. In Japanese, Shibari simply means “to tie.”

Snake and woman in Shibari ropes done by Alix Ge in France.

Blackwork woman in kimono done by Phil Kaulen at Elektrotinte Tattoo.

Full Shibari back piece and octopus done by Zhuo Dan Ting at Shanghai Tattoo in China.

Shibari dates back to the 1400’s when police and samurai would use Hojo-jutsu, the martial art of restraining captives. This was used to both imprison captives as well as torture.

Woman tied up, upside down done by Alvaro Contreras in Barcelona.

Delicate blackwork piece by Sad Amish tattooer at The Church tattoo in Bordeaux.

Neo traditional demon woman in Shibari rope done by Wes Harrison at Black Wren Tattoo.

By the late 1800’s and early 1900’s this evolved into a new kind of erotic rope tying called Kinbaku. Today, this erotic art form is generally just called Shibari.

Red rope Shibari woman done by Clara Welsh at Evil From the Needle in Camden UK.

Heart and Shibari rope by Scott Garitson at Til’ Death Denver.

The knots used in Shibari accentuate characteristics in the models body, and show sensuality, vulnerability, as well as strength. The ropes create geometric patterns on the models body that contrast the bodies natural curves.

More Japanese style piece, featuring her own Japanese tattoos done by inserseriusseries at Two Of Hearts Tattoo.

Torture by Shibari done by Sergey Vaskevich in Warsaw.

Shibari tattoos are erotic and sensual, showing off the human form in all its beauty. They are often done in black work, black and grey, realism, and neo traditional styles.

Blackwork heart and rope done by Lopes Onepunch at Gone fishing tattoo in Portugal.

Leg wrapped in rope by Tine DeFiore at Black Oak Tattoo in Chicago.

To see some live Shibari art please check out shibari.jp to see my favourite Shibari artist, Hajime Kinoko.

Realistic black and grey piece done by Németh S. Csilla at Deep Art Tattoo in Nové Zámky.

Blackwork shibari and video camera done by Ufoo Tattoo at Kult Tattoo Fest.

To learn more about the history and art of Shibari please check out http://www.artofcontemporaryshibari.com