Utsubuse zuri うつ伏せ吊り

Utsubuse zuri (うつ伏せ吊り) is the face-down suspension. Shibari Study defines it as a suspension in which the person in rope hangs face down, and refers to a parallel entry, utsubuse shibari, which it explains with the same words and derives from utsubuse, face down, plus either shibari (tie) or tsuri (suspension). Elsewhere the same glossary gives utsubuse shibari as a Japanese name for the face-down hogtie, so the word can mean a floor tie as well as a suspension.

What it is

Wikipedia’s article on suspension bondage treats face-down suspension as one kind of horizontal suspension, and says that horizontal suspensions are more often face down than face up. It also describes a hogtie-shaped suspension in which wrists and ankles are joined, sometimes called a suspension bow. In Japanese naming the closest relative is gyaku ebi zuri, which Shibari Study describes as the suspended version of the reverse shrimp and says is most often done face down.

Ropejam Studio in London teaches face-down full suspension in its sixth course level, together with face-up, lateral, inverted and diagonal positions, and its seventh level adds movement between the face-up, lateral and face-down positions. Both courses state that every suspension or sequence ends with a deliberate, controlled return to the floor.

Variations by teacher and school

• Naming: Bob Roos of RopeMarks (Amsterdam) defines utsubuse zuri as a face-down suspension and lists utsubuse shibari (うつ伏せ縛り) as another name for it, which matches the doubled meaning Shibari Study gives for the word.
• Breadth of the name: Peter Wettstein’s Shibaku glossary defines it as any suspension with the model face down, so the word covers a range of positions and not one pattern.

Difficulty and risk

None of the sources consulted rates face-down suspension as an entry-level form. Ropejam reserves it for its full-suspension levels and stresses the serious physical and emotional risks of full suspension, so Kinbaku World lists utsubuse zuri as advanced and high risk. The 2023 Cureus case series links most rope injuries to full suspension and to rope on the upper arm. Being held face down adds a second concern: a 2002 review of restraint research, cited by Wikipedia, judged that holding a person face down is likely to restrict breathing more than holding them face up, and the suspended gyaku ebi, which Shibari Study calls an intense position, combines it with a strongly arched back.