Kirigami & Tenshiko: Hashira Intensive

THIS EVENT IS FULLY BOOKED. If you are interested in participating, let us know so we can put you on the waitlist.

 

Kirigami and Tenshiko are partners both in rope and in life. They have been teaching and performing across Europe since 2012. In 2016, they founded School of Rope Milano, where they host weekly classes in traditional Japanese rope bondage for local students as well as international guests.

Their style is deeply rooted in classical Japanese Kinbaku, refined over the years through stage performances, private sessions, and photographic work. Alongside rope, their artistic path has been strongly influenced by the study of traditional Japanese arts — particularly the tea ceremony — which they continue to explore as part of their personal and creative development.

In recent years, their work has expanded beyond Europe. In 2023, they were invited to teach in Latin America and Australia, and began collaborating with Sugiura Norio Sensei on international workshops held in both Europe and Japan, as well as on a series of editorial projects, online and in print.

In 2025, Kirigami became the first non-resident of Japan to be invited to tie for Kinbaku Sajiki, the iconic photographic series curated by Sugiura Norio.

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Workshop

Hashira is an iconic prop in Japanese bondage pictures and movies. Practitioners all over Europe are fascinated by the old school aesthetics of a body tied to a wooden post. The fascination of the psychological archetypes associated with it, is also undeniable. At the same time, most people tend to reproduce harnesses and shapes to improve rope and body handling skills, as well as their ability to bind an aesthetically pleasing tie. While this endeavor is necessary to enjoy a satisfying session, it is also worth exploring the possibilities of intense ties offering more space for playful sessions.

During this workshop we will differentiate the exercises, on the one hand trying to improve riggers’ hard skills, with a special attention to rope and body handling, using technical ties and formal shapes; on the other hand we will also propose ties that can actually be used in elegantly crude ways.Most exercises will be full suspensions, but also some partials may be taught.

Prerequisites

• Solid TK – any style
• Smooth and safe suspension lines management
• Confidence in suspension sessions

During this workshop we will train:

• Body handling: joints manipulation, weight distribution
• Body handling: transitions in hashira ties
• Multiple lines management
• Predicament build up and maintenance
• Adapting ties to session context requirements
• Tension management

The Tk

We will use a stemless gote. Understanding its structure is important for following the workshop. Those who decide to join, despite not being used to tie a stemless gote, must be ready to adapt the ties.

Suspension lines

The main risk associated with hashira is line entanglement, resulting in impossibility of fast bail out in case of emergency. It is crucial for every rigger to be fast and proficient in line management.VariationsDepending on the level of participants, some ties will be varied and transformed into new shapes. Variations are didactically skill-oriented, and participants will improve rope and body handling while experimenting with new ties.