

In this tutorial, we'll learn how to tie a simple breast harness. In Japanese bondage (or "shibari"), this type of harness is called a "shinju." A shinju can be applied to just about any woman, though most shinju harnesses don't work well on men.

Making a Simple Shinju The style of shinju shown here is very simple, and easy to learn. More complex harnesses may have several layers of rope that cross the breasts directly, or vertical sections that are designed to press on and stimulate the nipples. This simple shinju can be used as a starting point for you to explore more complex forms of breast bondage, or can be tied beneath the karada demonstrated earlier. The shinju shown here can be made in only a few minutes. Many people prefer relatively short (10') lengths of rope for making a shinju; the rope I'm using here is longer than that, though it makes little difference. As with the karada, I prefer using longer pieces of rope with a shinju because I can then integrate the extra rope into other kinds of ties, such as arm ties. Just like with a karada, you'll start your shinju by locating the middle of the rope. Place your finger on your partner's spine at about the level of the bottom of her breasts, hold the center of the rope there, and then pass it around your partner's torso. When you come all the way around, put the ends of the rope through the loop, then bring one side up over each shoulder, as these pictures show: When you've done this, you'll have a piece of rope going around your partner just below the breasts, and two pieces of rope hanging over her shoulders, as the first part of the picture below illustrates. Run the two ends of the rope beneath the part of the rope passing under her breasts, then bring them up over her shoulders again, like so: At this point, you'll have two pieces of rope hanging down your partner's back. Take them both in your hand. Put your finger on your partner's spine, at a level just above the top of her breasts, and pull both pieces of rope together around her body above her breasts, like you see in the first picture here. Loop both pieces of rope through the loop you made with your finger; it'll make sense when you do it, I promise. Now you're almost finished. Take the two pieces of rope that are hanging down, and pass them under the lower piece of rope that goes around your partner's torso. Then just wrap the ends of the rope around and around, like you did with the karada. When you're done, the shinju should look like this from the front: There are all sorts of things you can do from this point, especially if you're using a 20' or 25' length of rope rather than a 10' length. For example, you can use the ends of the rope hanging down your partner's back to tie her arms behind her back, which will cause your partner to arch her back and display her breasts quite nicely. Or, if you like, rather than wrapping the ends of the rope around the lower of the two parts going around her torso, wrap the ends of the rope around both the upper and lower parts around her torso. This causes the upper and lower rope to squeeze together, stimulating the breasts. You can bring a third wrap around the center of her breasts, directly across the nipples, which will constantly stimulate her nipples, especially whenever she moves. When you bind your partner's breasts in a shinju, you can then tie the back of the shinju to a fixed upright object such as a post, which will hold her in place and allow you to caress, stimulate, or even flog her breasts. (If you flog the breasts of a person bound in this way, be aware that the rope will prevent the breasts from moving the way they would if she wasn't bound, so you should take care to do so more gently than you would otherwise.) The shinju can be used as a foundation, with a karada tied over it. Or the upper parts of the arms can be bound to the two ropes that pass around the person's torso, holding the arms at the side. Experiment, and you'll find all kinds of variations that start with this basic tie. BACK TO BONDAGE>>

What you'll need



Ordinary soft cotton or nylon rope is easy to find; you can get it at any hardware or home improvement store. I usually go with rope about .25" in diameter. I've found that 10', 25', and 40' lengths are convenient and versatile.



Basic Nylon Rope

25' lengths, available in

white or black

Standard, straightforward nylon rope, which is inexpensive, soft, and strong. 25' is a good working length for rope, and this rope is available in black or white. It's good for basic bondage, and for tying rope harnesses as described in the other sections of this Web site.

Hemp Rope Starter Kit

One 30' length and two

10' lengths of 6mm organic

hemp rope, available

in three colors, plus

EMT scissors.

Hemp rope is the gold standard for BDSM play. Hemp rope is made from an entirely organic fiber. When properly cared for, it is soft and supple and has a "feel" unlike any other kind of rope, and the sensation of a hemp rope harness is like nothing else.



In the past, hemp rope has been relatively difficult to find when compared with nylon or cotton rope. However, you can now get hemp rope "starter kits" online at a remarkably reasonable price. Each kit contains one 30' length of hemp rope, two 10' lengths, and a pair of bandage scissors, and the rope is available either naturally colored or in blue or red.



