The words “ Japanese rope bondage ” can make people feel momentarily speechless. Which is ironic, given that the people who actually practice it say it’s mostly about talking. Shibari—which translates from Japanese as “to bind” or “to tie”—has been practiced for centuries, but it’s gaining a new audience among couples looking for something beyond the usual range of a standard date night. The practice involves one partner, the rigger, tying the other, the receiver, using specific knots, hitches, and rope-based restraints. What practitioners describe has very little to do with what most people picture when they hear the words “rope bondage.” Videos by VICE “I always thought it was something for people that enjoyed pain and submission,” Richard, a shibari practitioner who regularly engages in rope play with his wife Kate, told the New York Post . The two have since become regulars. The pivot came when Kate, a self-described “rope bunny,” was practicing shibari with a friend before they were together.…