Rope Dojo
A Kew-based studio for hojojutsu, shibari and kinbaku that offers monthly memberships with classes graded from beginner to advanced, walk-in beginner classes, and Sunday rope jams.
Rope Dojo presents itself as a Melbourne studio for hojōjutsu, shibari and kinbaku with the tagline “Tokyo trained, training Melbourne”, and says its instructors are licensed in several Japanese lineages (ryū). The website names no founder or opening year. One instructor named on its event listings is Ash Snare, who is described there as having trained in Tokyo from 2015 and as the only Australian accredited teacher of the Yagami school; that claim comes from the dojo’s own listing.
Membership and grading
The dojo is run on a membership model. In November 2026 a basic membership cost AU$120 a month and a premium membership AU$200 a month; both include the shibari classes of the member’s grade plus extra-curricular sessions such as yoga, Japanese language and cinema nights, and the premium tier lets a member bring any partner without buying a pass. Classes are graded beginner, intermediate and advanced. Riggers attend only the levels they have been graded for and are invited to an assessment by an instructor when they are ready to move up, while models may join any class their rigger is graded for. Memberships can be paused without a lock-in contract.
Beginner classes are casual: no booking is needed and they cost AU$30 per person, paid on arrival. The dojo also runs a two-hour introductory workshop covering the history of modern shibari and kinbaku, consent negotiation, anatomy and safety, rope materials, communication through rope, and two adaptable core forms; solo participants are welcome and class rope is supplied, with Japanese jute for sale.
Jams and guests
Sunday rope jams offer open mats and hardpoints for beginners and experienced practitioners, who can come alone or with friends; a Halloween jam was listed for 25 October 2026. The dojo also holds film evenings with tatami seating.
Visiting teachers have included Yagami Ren, whose 2024 Melbourne tour at the dojo covered Yagami-style fundamentals, floor work, partial suspension, and full suspension forms and transitions, and Kirigami and Tenshiko of Yugen Studio in Milan, who gave an intensive, private tuition and performances, including a shibari salon. The dojo has also hosted a sumi-e ink painting workshop with Junko Azukawa.