Nureki Chimuo Archive

Continuing from my previous post, I’ll write about the preparations for the photo shoot for “Hiromi Saotome’s New Photo Book.”

This text is less intended for Hiromi Saotome, photographer Yamanouchi, and producer Nakahara, who will be participating in this shoot, and more of a personal reminder for myself.

I have a tendency to be impatient, short-sighted, and scatterbrained in everything I do, and I easily get sidetracked, so I’m writing this as a reminder to myself.

This is a memo to firmly engrave the theme of this photo shoot in my mind once again and to keep myself from straying onto side paths or detours.

For this shoot, only the four of us, model Hiromi Saotome, photographer Sachi Yamanouchi, producer Nakahara Rutsu, and myself, will be locked away in a room at the Yamanouchi residence. No additional staff will be present.

As I will explain later, this has significant meaning.

I’ll say it again. I’m an extremely scatterbrained person (and I’ve lost count of how many times Director Nakahara has scolded me for it). Whenever I meet someone who shares my tastes and clicks with me, I say “I’m going to put my heart and soul into this shoot, so it’s going to be really interesting. Why don’t you come watch? Help out as part of the staff.” I can’t help but blurt out smooth talk like that.

Having more staff members means they can handle the various odd jobs that come up on set, which makes things easier for me both mentally and physically. However, that very ease tends to diminish the overall sense of tension.

For this shoot, we must eliminate any elements that might lead to a lack of tension. Therefore, I will not permit the participation of such temporary staff. 17

Tomoshibi means lamplight.

If even a single onlooker is nearby, the intensity of the shoot diminishes and the model’s concentration is disrupted.

It’s not just the model. Simply having spectators around makes my own sense of urgency wane, and my rope work becomes slack.

Essentially, sadly, I end up getting into a mindset and performing rope work that is meant to be shown to the spectators.

It’s a habit I’ve had for years.

Come to think of it, I’ve always been doing bondage just to show off to someone. I am, after all, just a service provider doing the grunt work.

But for this shoot, I want to break away from that position, even just a little.

And I want Saotome to rid her mind of the habits and inertia she’s accumulated as a professional model.

She must break free from this past professional mindset, that she gets paid just for getting naked and posing as the photographer tells her, or that she gets paid just for silently letting herself be tied up.

Thankfully, right now, Saotome is already feeling that way on her own.

You could say that the three of us, Yamanouchi, Nakahara, and I, have jumped on board with that sentiment.

Now, more than ever, Saotome must lay bare her true feelings as a rope enthusiast. We want her to show us the unique nature of her sexual desires.

If we cannot see that form, this shoot will have no meaning or significance.

To use an old expression, the four of us are “friends who share our innermost thoughts.”

We breathe in the same “world,” and we are friends who have opened up to each other to the very depths of our hearts and formed a deep bond.

Now that we have gathered here under this project and are burning with passion, I cannot help but feel that there is a fateful inevitability to it.

It truly feels as though the time is ripe.

That said, aside from me, the other three, Saotome, Yamanouchi, and Nakahara, each have demanding jobs and are busy every day. They must lead lives even busier than those of ordinary people.

Although we stay in close contact, opportunities for all four of us to actually meet face-to-face and talk are surprisingly rare.

Yet, as it happens, yesterday everything went smoothly, and we were able to meet up perfectly, as if by some miracle.

As for what exactly constitutes a miracle and where the miracle lies, explaining that would be quite substantial and interesting in itself, but since it would likely become a lengthy story, I’ll omit it.

At yesterday’s gathering, in addition to the four of us, another person joined us. Mr. T. Takashi, our precious comrade and irreplaceable old friend.

Mr. T. Takashi is also a “soulmate” with whom I’ve shared a long history and a deep bond of trust.

However, as he holds a position of responsibility and leads a busy daily life, we rarely get to meet.

That being the case, opportunities for the five of us, including Mr. T. Takashi, to gather around a single table, free from any need to be considerate of other ordinary people, and to chat and converse freely and comfortably are quite rare.

Although Mr. T. Takashi finds it difficult to attend events like photo shoots due to his busy schedule, he is an important member of our newly formed group, so much so that it feels as though he was destined to be part of it from the very beginning, even without being formally invited.

There is a special joy in seeing these five of us come together and talk freely and spontaneously, losing track of time.

Yesterday, the five of us miraculously managed to escape from the bothersome crowd of ordinary people and get together, so the atmosphere was twice as lively and enjoyable as usual.

That’s right.

We decided last night that removing the word “za” from our group name, “Tomishibi-za,” and keeping just “Tomoshibi” would make it sound cleaner and better, and everyone agreed, so we settled on that.

“Putting ‘za’ in there makes it sound like a theater troupe, and it feels a bit off,” said both Nakahara-san and Yamanouchi-san quite emphatically.

As someone who has always loved theater, I had arbitrarily tacked “za” onto “Tomoshibi” myself, hoping to at least immerse myself in the enchanting atmosphere of a theater troupe, if only for the sake of the mood.

The unyielding childishness of an 81-year old.

But if those two scary older ladies say so, I won’t insist on it.

Whether it’s “Tomoshibi-za” or just “Tomoshibi,” I’m fine with either.

After all, I was the one who first suggested we name the group “Tomoshibi” in the first place.

“When naming groups like this, there’s a tendency to string together all sorts of eerie, flashy words to try to look intimidating. I hate that kind of hype. It feels like it lays the creators’ true intentions bare. Even with videos or photo books, people try to grab customers’ attention by slapping on overly pretentious, grandiose, yet hollow titles, I think that backfires. Let’s go with a name for our group that’s as understated, unobtrusive, and unassuming as possible. Something light and breezy. For example, ‘Tomoshibi’ or something like that.”

When I said that, Director Nakahara Rutsu, who was standing nearby, immediately chimed in, “Oh, that's great! Tomoshibi! That’s perfect! In hiragana: Tomoshibi! (ともしび)” and jumped right on board.

So, although we initially intended to go with “Tomoshibi,” I started thinking that “Tomoshibi” alone sounded a bit like a haiku or tanka magazine. So on my own initiative, I added “za” to it and established it as “Tomoshibi-za” within this Talking Theater.

However, at last night’s gathering of our comrades, we went back to “Tomoshibi,” and it was decided that this would be the final name. I have no objection.

The new bondage photo book featuring Hiromi Saotome as the model holds experimental or commemorative significance for the formation of “Tomoshibi.”

If this experiment yields a result I’m satisfied with, I intend to immediately begin work on a video or photo book featuring Fuyuki Sawato.

So, Fuyuki, please wait just a little longer.

Oh, it seems I’ve gone off on a tangent again. I was supposed to be writing about something else entirely. I was going to list specific guidelines for everyone on set and use that to get everyone in the right mood for the day.

But, oh well.

Let’s just say it’s fine.

So, last night, our close-knit group of five got together. While drinking beer and wine and having a lively and boisterous time, we ended up setting the date for the shoot.

We’re going to create a photo book so wonderful that Hiromi Saotome will cry with joy, thinking, “I’m so glad to be alive.”

I’m confident we can do this.

I haven’t aged for nothing.

That’s right. Even if I’m past my prime, I’m still Nureki Chimuo.

If I didn’t have a winning strategy, I wouldn’t have started “Tomoshibi” in the first place.