Nawakai 縄界
A kinbaku dojo, formerly known as Kinbaku Dojo Montréal, that teaches a numbered six-course path running from an introduction and basic ties through partial suspensions, suspension lines and advanced partner communication, mostly as pair-based sessions.
Nawakai (縄界, “world of rope”) is a Montreal school for shibari, kinbaku and Japanese bondage linked to the rope performer and educator Isabelle Hanikamu, whose site presents it as her school and as a hub for learning and community. It grew out of a space opened in February 2015 with tatami and wooden beams in the Japanese manner; the dojo’s move announcement describes that space as the first dedicated shibari and kinbaku dojo in Montreal and in North America, built so that people of any style could practice without travelling to Japan. Formerly Kinbaku Dojo Montréal, it was renamed Nawakai to adapt to students’ needs, according to Hanikamu’s site, and it later moved to new premises in the east end of Montreal, after which classes resumed in April. Its site is in French and English and calls the school a safe and inclusive space.
Courses
The group path has six numbered courses: an introduction to shibari, basic ties, intermediate ties, partial suspensions (after courses 1 and 2), suspension lines, and a workshop on advanced communication and trust (after courses 1 to 3). Courses are booked through the school’s online shop, which has also sold places at Peer Rope Montreal, a knowledge-sharing session open to everyone. The group sessions listed on the course page are dated autumn 2024, the last of them a Peer Rope session on November 16, 2024, and the shop also shows a private Course 1 booking dated January 28, 2026. As of November 2026 no later group dates were listed, so current dates should be checked with the school.
Teaching and rope
Hanikamu gives private lessons at Nawakai or at the student’s location and travels to teach; her site mentions a 2017 European tour and workshops in Rome and at Sydney Rope Dojo. She calls her signature style Sensual Semenawa Ryu (官能責め流), focused on the sensual side of semenawa. Nawakai also sells its own Kankinawa rope and shares tutorials, books and videos with its students.