Translator’s Note: When we explore the history of Kinbaku and Japanese SM (the two are inseparable, in reality), we have a tendency to focus on the legends of bondage themselves. Names like Minomura Ko, Nureki Chimuo, Akechi Denki and many others.
But equally important are the models, both amateur and professional, that help shaped the content and the shape of the culture of Japanese SM. From Kitan Club to Roman videos, and to the modern era of Japanese AVs, each model provides a unique canvas in expression and feeling, and without them, Japanese SM may have never evolved out of primarily reader submission magazines.
Hiromi Saotome is a legendary model in the Japanese SM world. First staring in adult films in 1983, she participated in one of her first magazine shoots in the same year, for a magazine called SM Mania. The production involved herself, Nureki Chimuo, and Sugiura Norio.
These are the translations of her blog, located here (https://note.com/saotome6) talking about her history with Nureki. It is my honor to have them published on Kinbaku Today.
By Hiromi Saotome
September 28, 2020
In 2011, with my involvement with commercial SM magazines having ended and the Kinbaku Beauty Research Society having disbanded, Nureki Sensei was 81 years old. With a fresh perspective, he proposed a project called “Tomoshibi Planning.” This was not Nureki Sensei’s idea alone. It was conceived by three other people, Nakahara Rutsu-san, director of the “Fuzoku Shiryokan (Sex Industry Archives),” a members-only library in Iidabashi, Tokyo; photographer and editor Sachi Yamanouchi, and myself, as the model.
That “fresh perspective” meant capturing “authentic masochistic eroticism.” These days, not only are adult videos everywhere, but the Internet offers an endless supply of erotic images (as it has for quite some time). Even in SM, it’s all about full nudity, including pubic hair, and simply relentlessly stimulating models with electric massagers and vibrators. In bondage, the number of ropes used keeps increasing. Our intention was to return to our roots, to recapture the spirit of the Kitan Club era. Nureki Sensei is the only one who knows that early form of eroticism. The idea was for him to return to those origins himself and express the joy of tying ropes, the spirit of masochism, and eroticism.
From the conception of this “Tomoshibi Project” through the script and the filming process, everything is recorded as a diary in Nureki Sensei’s “Talking Theater.” Based on this diary, I’d like to share my thoughts.
First, when the intent for the shoot was finalized, Nureki Sensei contacted me. I naturally agreed to the new bondage shoot, but I voiced my concerns. It was shoot at Mania Club back in 2005. During that shoot, I had to call it quits several times. Even more time had passed since then. I wasn’t confident I could endure such intense bondage. Both my stamina and muscle strength have declined. Whenever I think of a shoot, I picture the race against time with photographer Sugiura’s lighting setup, so I wasn’t confident I could hold the poses. In response, Nureki Sensei said,
“Don’t worry. We won’t do any spectacle-style bondage like suspension. We absolutely won’t do a ‘cruel torture endurance contest.’ Because there’s no eroticism in that.” (Talking Theater Chapter 156, March)
I had a vague feeling that this might be my last bondage session for publicity purposes. No, it was precisely because Nureki Sensei went so far as to send me all the updated scripts for “Talking Theater” that he made me feel that way. And he was deeply committed to “connecting with everyone on a conscious level.”
In the 158th chapter of Talking Theater, Nureki Sensei wrote honestly about his true feelings regarding the content of the shoot. “At first, I had no story at all. I just wanted to show the act of tying, the process, and my reactions. However, Director Nakahara pointed out that it would be better to create a narrative.” Indeed, Director Nakahara’s point was correct. “Just tying” and “my reactions,” these are familiar tropes at the Kinbiken. This would have merely resulted in another new work by the Kinbiken. Story. A story is indispensable to kinbaku. An easy-to-understand example might be, “He torments me until I cry. That’s a fleeting joy for me,” or something like that. It’s difficult to express anything without some kind of emotion. After all, this isn’t just private play. This difference in emotion might stem from the differences between men and women.
The script from the 160th chapter of Talking Theater begins in the form of notes. “Even when creating a story, we prioritize shooting within a natural flow and maintaining a sense of realism. We won’t shoot entire scenes with contrived, artificial photos.” This is something you can clearly see by watching the AVs flooding the market. The more cliched the story becomes, the more my heart grows cold.
The narrative follows the psychology of BDSM. Why do men tie women up? Why don’t women seriously try to escape even when they’re tied up? The female character is a wife struggling with her husband’s debt. The man is a debt collector. At first glance, this setup may seem cliche, but these are the most down-to-earth portrayals of a man and a woman. The story notes are rewritten and distributed almost daily. And what has become clear to us is that it’s not about flashy costumes. It’s about ordinary, everyday clothes. The shoot takes place at the female photographer’s home, the old detached house in Musashi, Tokyo. We determined this location was ideal for achieving a sense of realism. And most importantly, this project involves absolutely no nudity and no explicit sexual depictions. Simply stripping people naked is mere eroticism. What we aim for is “masochistic eroticism.” The key challenge was seeing just how much eroticism we could evoke through a presentation that contains absolutely no nudity.
Shot on Sunday, May 1, 2011. A lightly overcast day, perfect for the shoot. The outfit I prepared was the one I usually wore around the house. For the underwear, I wore beige ones so it wouldn’t look fake when they are pulled up. Although the bondage itself was very simple, it turned out to be a surprisingly demanding shoot in a different sense.
