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
July 26, 2020
Bondage photography doesn’t happen with just a photographer and a model. It requires someone to perform the bondage. Nureki Chimuo, now deceased, was Sugiura-san’s best partner. I’ll write in detail about Nureki Sensei in the next entry, but he was a full generation older than Sugiura-san and was also his senior as an editor. The two likely met during the golden age of SM magazines in the late 1970s. At that time, Nureki Sensei wrote columns and short stories for SM magazines, performed bondage for the photo spreads, and was in high demand by various publishers. This was because, even among commercial magazines, there were very few people capable of performing bondage that would satisfy enthusiasts.
Sugiura: “It really comes down to the lines of the rope. Teaming up with Nureki-san is what really stuck with me. There must definitely be rules for creating beautiful rope work. If you deviate even slightly, it becomes unbearable to look at, it turns ugly. If you perform rope bondage without understanding those rules, the result isn’t aesthetic, it just ends up looking chaotic and uncontrolled. When that happens, you just can’t shoot it. In situations like that, I can’t just leave it to him. I end up butting in on the rope work, too.”
While Nureki Sensei understood the feelings of bondage enthusiasts, he also knew, as a commercial magazine photographer, how to tie models without pushing them too hard. Back when I was frequently working as a bondage model (in the early 1980s), my fellow models would all say in unison, “Nureki Sensei, Sugiura-san, you guys are the best!” After their shoots, we’d show each other our rope marks and brag about them, it was a fun time (all the models who loved bondage got along really well). Photographer Sugiura’s energy would also keep rising as he worked with Nureki Sensei. “Sensei! How should we tie her next? A lying-down pose? Oh, let’s save that for later, let’s go with a suspension, a suspension!” In response to those words, he’d say with a smile, “A suspension, huh? Okay, okay. Her! (Mr. Nureki always referred to the model this way.) A suspension, you say! I wonder if she can handle it. Photographer Sugiura sure is tough,” as he moved the ropes one by one, gradually raising her into the suspension.
However, as adult videos became wildly popular and the SM genre ceased to be a niche interest, instead becoming accepted as a common term, SM magazines also began to change. They shifted from being aimed at a narrow circle of enthusiasts to targeting a broader audience, and the photo spreads increasingly took on a “nude with ropes” style. Fed up with such publishers, Nureki Sensei withdrew from the SM magazines. Once that happened, the rope bondage was left entirely in the hands of the editors. The era of learning by trial and error had arrived.
Around that time, Sugiura-san had become an exclusive photographer for Sanwa Publishing. In fact, it was probably around the mid-1990s that Sugiura-san’s photography changed. The shadows disappeared, and his work began to resemble what is commonly known as nude photography. Even in his bondage shots, there was absolutely no sense of tension in the ropes. I was disappointed every time I looked at the photo spreads.
Sugiura: “Part of it is that the models have changed. Model agencies have become established, and most girls are signed to them, so they have managers. There are even rules about what they won’t do during a shoot. It’s not like they’re deceiving anyone, but somehow a distance has developed, so to speak… Plus, these days they even bring in hair and makeup artists to make everything look perfect. Messy hair, sweat on the face, they smooth out all the tension of the moment, so I can’t capture that ‘disheveled allure.’ Even if I tell them, ‘Don’t touch it!’ they probably just can’t help but reach in and fix it.”
Sugiura: “As for my approach, back in the day, I’d call the models myself and ask them to do a shoot, right? So I think back then, I looked at them with a mindset of, ‘How should I connect with this girl? I want to get to know her. What kind of person is she?’ I like women, after all (laughs). Plus, some of them were terrible at applying makeup, even though their bare faces were beautiful, the makeup was off, and their body types varied widely. It was to shoot while thinking, ‘Okay, how should I capture this girl?’ These days, all the girls are beautiful and have great figures. You don’t even have to think about how to shoot them, they just come out looking beautiful. I even crack a few jokes while I’m shooting, and it’s all good fun.”
Back in the day, chatting during a shoot was absolutely out of the question. It was a serious challenge. How long could I hold the poses directed by photographer Sugiura, and could I keep up with Nureki Sensei’s bondage techniques? Of course, it wasn’t about winning or losing, but I wanted to leave behind great photos and didn’t want to waste the intention of those two titans. As I’m writing this now, I realize that even the very fact that I perceived them as “two titans” is a thing of the past.
And Sugiura-san’s photography has returned to the style of the past, with those dark shadows. Sugiura-san probably had his own reasons, but perhaps it’s because today’s editors, conversely, found those old photos to be “new.” To put it another way, it means that no one else has ever emerged with the “Sugiura style” of photography, no one has been able to imitate it. In bondage photography, the story told by the shadows is, after all, what matters most. And the tradition of bondage photography is being carried on by the next generation, who are growing, thriving, and taking the torch while receiving both criticism and encouragement from Sugiura-san.
September 2005. My deepest wish came true. The Sugiura-Nureki duo agreed to do a photo shoot for me. It was for Sanwa Publishing’s “Mania Club.” It was truly the very last photo shoot I would ever do with this duo. Of course, I was thrilled, but I was also incredibly nervous. Fifteen years ago, I was already over 40. Would I have the stamina to keep up? However, once the shoot began, I had no time to worry. Photographer Sugiura’s instructions came one after another, and Nureki Sensei tied me up. Several times, I had to ask for a break, saying, “Hey, this is a little too tight.” This wasn’t something that used to happen, but if I didn’t listen to my body, I’d end up causing trouble for everyone else. After the shoot, I was supposed to do an interview, but I became so overcome with emotion that I couldn’t stop crying. The two masters sensed how I was feeling and began speaking quietly to me. Incidentally, this shoot is featured in the documentary film “Bakushi” (2007), directed by Ryuichi Hiroki.
In 2018, the photo book “Showa: Sugiura Norio 1972-2017” was published through crowdfunding. It is a large-format volume. Even in the finest details of the shadows in the background, you can still sense the atmosphere of that era.
Sugiura Noria is now 78 years old. He continues to take bondage photographs to this day.
