The Indian Kama Sutra Was about a Lot More Than Weird Sex Positions
Here’s one you’ve likely heard of - the infamous Kama Sutra, one of the oldest books about sex and how to have it. Written in Sanskrit sometime between 400 BCE and 300 CE, the Kama Sutra continues to captivate today. Yet, there’s a lot you may not know about it.
The Kama Sutra is an overarching guide to existence and happiness, much of which is related to sexuality and eroticism. The text is made up of philosophical ideas about life and love detailed using poetry and prose. It includes advice about flirting, relationships (gay and straight), power dynamics in marriage and, of course, lots of sex positions.
There are also sections thoughtfully explaining how to partake in what we would call BDSM. Sexual bites, scratches, slaps and screams are all mentioned. There’s a chapter called "Types of Scratching with the Nails" and another on consensual erotic slapping. The latter features four types of hitting permissible during lovemaking, but cautions these should only be used on people who find such activities “joyful.”
These allusions to impact play and consent make the Kama Sutra the oldest known guide to ethically incorporating torture into sex. It’s also the first known text to distinguish between people who enjoy pain and those who don’t.
Japan Created an Entire Martial Art Centered Around Bondage & Humiliation
Japan was largely isolated from much of the rest of the world until the mid-1800s. As a consequence, one of the things it missed out on was metalworking. This led to the creation of an incredibly creative martial art called hojojitsu sometime in the 1500s. Hojojitsu was the art of rope restraint. When capturing or punishing criminals, samurai or other law enforcement would bind prisoners using elaborate rope configurations and secret knots in order to prevent escape.
These bonds were about more than just restraint, however. A lot of consideration also went into the aesthetics of hojojitsu. A major tenet of the practice declared that in addition to restricting movement, the ties must be pleasing to the eye. This led to many innovative arrangements that remained guarded secretly by individual clans.
Prisoners were often publicly humiliated by being paraded around while bound. I’m sure those of you whose pulse increased while reading this have already realized hojojitsu is the precursor to shibariorkinbaku, Japanese erotic rope bondage. Today, bondage is also used to humiliate (except now with consent) as well as arouse.
While rope bondage wasn’t sexualized in Japan until the early 20th century, current practices continue to take inspiration from ancient hojojitsu ties. So, while the art of hojojitsu sadly faded away (Japan was eventually introduced to handcuffs), the art lives on in a new form.
Humanity’s interest in non-normative sexual practices and the erotic exchange of power dynamics extends as far back in time as we can trace. The next time some naysayer tells you kinky people are nothing but freaks, you can point out that BDSM has actually been cool since the advent of writing itself. The rest is history.
