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Degrees of Formality and Completion (Shingyoso) in the Japanese art of Kinbaku

Article · November 2016

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Degrees of Formality and Completion
(Shingyoso) in the Japanese art of Kinbaku
Written by Luke Crocker

Shingyoso 真行草
In Japanese culture, the term Shingyōsō (真行草) has its roots in many sources; This is a concept that
can be found in everything from Toshi Keikaku (City, urban, and town planning; 都市計画), to the
categorization of utensils found in Sadō (Tea Ceremony; 茶道), it is however most known for its use
in Shodō (Calligraphy; 書道). In general this system can be thought of as a measure of formality:

• Shin 真 represents the most formal or symmetrically structured. For city planning this would
refer to the cities that have a rectangular perimeters and orthogonal axes, and are regarded as
formal cities.1 In tea ceremony, when offering tea to a noble, or at a shrine or temple, a
matched set of bronze utensils from China is used with a specific utensil stand. These are really
(formal) utensils.2 In the case of calligraphy, this would be recognized for being quite crisp and
font-like, often times with sharp serif while other times without any such flourishes. This would
be used for more clerical situations such as temple administrative documentation.

• Gyō 行 represents a semi-formal presentation of the art in question. for traditional urban
settlements in Japan, gyō would be the castle town. These towns usually have a combination of
the other two styles and may be called ‘Gyō‘ cities. The center area in castle towns usually
follows the curve of the castle moat, while the perimeter may be more rigid or relaxed.3 For Tea
ceremony, this would represent utensils between Japanese ceramics and bamboo and that of
Chinese steel wear, and as such, is semi-formal.4 lastly, for calligraphy, this would be the
equivalent to general handwriting found in English, commonly used for daily communication,
note-taking, and illustrates a bit of character from the author.5
 • Sō 草 is completely informal, and
though may not be welcome in many
high-etiquette venues, is none the
less appreciated for its Wabi-
sabiqualities and character. The cities
located further inland were
developed along the water routes,
and respond to the curves found in Figure 1 The character of “mu” (nothingness; 無) written in the three
the rivers and waterways. These levels of formality.
cities therefore are planned
in ‘Sō’ style.6 In contrast to these Chinese utensils there are ceramics made in Japan that have an
earthy flavor and simple utensils made of bamboo and wood that bring out the quality of their
materials just as they are. These are ‘Sō‘ (informal) utensils.7 Lastly, Cursive script. Also called
Grass script. Flowing style, with slender lines, and composed with rapid fluid strokes. This is the
type most often used in formal Japanese calligraphy.

Now that we have established the nature of the concept Shingyōsō, we get to the question of “what
does this have to do with shibari?”

Hojojutsu 捕縄術
Well, as one may have been made aware of, many of the ties used in shibari, and many more that are
still in development, were inspired, borrowed, or derived from Hojōjutsu, the martial art of rope
arresting.

Interestingly, the practices of arresting the opponent with rope presents one of the clearest examples
of Shingyōsō available in the martial arts. There are a few ryūha (traditions) in particular that made use
of Shingyōsō quite explicitly, such as Ichiden-ryū, Taishō-ryū, Kentoku-ryū, Sasai-ryū, and Hōen-ryū,
where many of the ties have variations that increased in complexity as they were considered more
formal. Each stage expresses the progression from informal to formal via placement and complexity of
the rope on the captive.8

Alternatively, for some traditions, the ties

were divided up in measure of expected
longevity, where Sō was for temporary ties
for use with the short rope in immediate
capture situations, while Shin was the
category for the more permanent ties
performed using the longer rope, and of
course the Gyō ties were for anything in
between that.
Figure 2 “Shingyōsō no Honnawa Funyū-ban” (真行草之本縄不入番)
of Ichiden-ryū (一傳流).
Shibari 縛り
In the matters of shibari, it’s a bit more of an aesthetic of “completeness” or “unfinishedness”. Many
times in class I’ll be showing a tie, and stop to state, “this is the tie”, and then continue either with the
rest of the rope in hand, or with adding more rope. This pause is “sō”, it has done it’s job, but it gives the
feeling of being incomplete. This can manifest in the examples from Ipponnawa, or from examples of
Kuzushi (untidy, unbalanced; 崩し). The rope covers little and is
often times asymmetrical.
Though simple and for some dis-interesting, this level of
informality requires the least amount of nit-picking (finite knot
tying), as it is oftentimes covering the most space with the least
complexity. This allows for greater flourish, flow, and a focus on
other things (such as play).

Shin, by contrast, it a sort of complete, well structured, and solid

seeming architecture of tying. Here, things are usually pretty
symmetrical, and it is usually at this point that some would
consider a box tie (for example) to be suspension worthy, Figure 3 An example of “so” (草) in shingyoso.
though such may not always be the case. A single length of rope expressing simplicity.

Finally, Gyō is in-between, it is neither highly structured, nor

is it lose and relaxed like sō. This sort of level is often
suitable for partial-suspensions. Interestingly, one could
almost measure shingyōsō by how much rope is used: one
rope is sō, two is gyō, and three is Shin, though it would be
very shallow to say that this is the case, it almost equates
here.

But to delve down that rabbit hole would be to

digress. Shingyōsō in shibari is a matter of recognizing a
certain degree of formality in the ties and the qualities that
are made available thereof.

Works Cited
Hanazawa, Shintaro, et al. "Shin, Gyo, So: The Traditional Figure 4 An example of gyō ( 行) in shingyōsō. here it
Concepts of Spatial Design in Japan." (2004). Paper. is neither formal nor informal.

<https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0ahUKEwjM5tfs7
5_SAhUm34MKHRqTB0wQFggmMAI&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.etsav.upc.es%2Fpersonals%2Fi
phs2004%2Fpdf%2F080_p.pdf&usg=AFQjCNFg2CwhAsRlwGf1UJwARiG5LDVoAQ&cad=rja>.

Omotesenke Fushin’an Foundation. Shin-gyo-so (formal, semi-formal, informal) ranking of utensils.

2005. <http://www.omotesenke.jp/english/list6/list6-2/list6-2-3/>.
Schumacher, Mark. Calligraphy. 2013. <http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/calligraphy1.shtml>.

Seiko, Fujita. Zukai Hojojutsu 図解捕縄術. Tokyo, 1986. Book.

 1
Shintaro Hanazawa, Yukio Nishimura, Takeru Kitazawa, Naota Nakajima. Shin, Gyo, So: The Traditional Concepts
of Spatial Design in Japan. (2004)
2
Omotesenke Fushin’an Foundation. Shin-gyo-so (formal semi-formal, informal) ranking of utensils. (2005)
3
See note 1
4
See note 2
5
Schumacher, Mark. Shodou – Japanese Calligraphy, Literally “The Way of Writing”. (2013).
6
See note 1
7
See note 2
8
Seiko, Fujita. Zukai Hojojutsu. (1986).

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