Akira Naka’s June 2014 appearance in Los Angeles marked his first visit to the United States. Hosted by Master “K” and Zetsu of the LA Rope Dojo, the three-day visit combined a public performance on June 13 with two days of classes on June 14 and 15.
Akira Naka’s First Visit to the United States
The June 13 performance took place in Silver Lake before a sold-out audience of approximately 150 people. Naka appeared with his partner, Iroha Shizuki, demonstrating the intense, highly expressive style of kinbaku for which he had become known in Japan. Following the performance, Master “K” interviewed Naka and Shizuki about the demonstration, Naka’s history in kinbaku, and the development of his approach to rope.
The weekend was conceived as more than a performance tour. The LA Rope Dojo organized the visit specifically to give American audiences an opportunity to encounter a strand of Japanese kinbaku that was still rarely seen or taught in the United States. The accompanying workshops sold out almost immediately to members of the LA Rope Dojo and private students.
Naka’s visit was especially significant because of his relationship with Nureki Chimuo. Naka had studied with Nureki for more than twenty years and was described at the time as his sole student. Nureki, who had recently died at the age of eighty-four, was one of the major figures connecting postwar Japanese SM culture with the development of modern kinbaku. Naka’s work carried elements of that lineage into a contemporary performance and teaching practice characterized by dramatic ties, powerful suspension, and an unusually subtle use of control, tension, and emotional intensity.
The 2014 Los Angeles appearance therefore represented an important moment in the transmission of Japanese kinbaku to American practitioners. For many members of the audience and workshop participants, it was their first direct encounter with Naka’s interpretation of the tradition he had inherited from Nureki.
Photographs from the June 13, 2014 performance by Zetsu.
