Nureki Chimuo Archive

As a follow-up to the previous installment of this “Talking Theater.” I’d like to jot down some notes from the photo shoot for Hiromi Saotome’s Kinbaku Photo Collection Vol. 2, “The Garden of Horsetails.”

Since these are just notes, I'll write down whatever comes to mind, sort of like hints, in no particular order.

So, when we actually shoot, I don’t think we’ll stick strictly to these notes. We’ll probably adapt them freely as we go.

Just like the previous shoot, this one is also exclusively for the photo book and will not be filmed for video.

After reading the previous installment of “Talking Theater,” “From ‘The Sunset Room’ to ‘The Horsetail Garden,’” producer Nakahara Rutsu promptly sent me the following suggestions.

She suggested starting with a “Teru Teru Bozu” scene.

Yeah, that’s a good idea, I immediately agreed, and based on that suggestion, I began to envision the opening scene.

With the feeling of waiting for her husband, who has disappeared without a trace after running up debts, Hiromi is making a teru teru bozu on the veranda facing the garden.

A teru teru bozu is a simple doll hung under the eaves of a house, imbued with the wish for good weather the next day and the prayer that the long, persistent rain will stop. But in Hiromi’s case, along with her prayer for clear skies, there is also her longing for her husband’s return.

1

Just then, Tamaru, the moneylender, brazenly walked in from the garden. A teru teru bozu is a small cloth doll, resembling a ghost, to ward off rain.

Seeing what was on Hiromi’s mind, Tamaru said, “If your husband doesn’t come back, I’ll be in trouble too. After all, I’ve lent him 1.5 million yen. I’ll help you make a teru teru bozu so your husband comes back soon.”

When Hiiromi saw Tamaru, she instinctively tried to run away.

Tamaru grabbed Hiromi’s wrist firmly and said, “Whoa, if you run away, I’ll have absolutely no idea where your husband is. I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to tie you up again so you can’t move.”

Tamaru took out a rope and, licking his lips with glee, tried to tie Hiromi’s hands behind her back.

“Please, I won’t run away, so please don’t tie me up anymore,” Hiromi pleads pitifully.

Tamaru grins wickedly as he twists Hiromi’s wrists behind her back.

(The above scene takes place on the veranda facing the garden.)

Tamaru drags the bound Hiromi from the veranda into the room.

Hiromi instinctively struggles and cries out, “Help me! Someone, help me!”

She shouts at the top of her lungs. Tamaru panics and says, “Hey, hey, don’t shout so loud. What if the neighbors hear us?”

As he says this, he gags Hiromi with a hand towel.

He stuffs it tightly into her mouth, gagging her carefully with two or three layers.

(Last time, he tied her to a pillar and gagged her, but this time he pins her down on the tatami mats, makes her crawl, and gags her while she’s laying on her side. Hiromi writhes in agony in the prone position.)

Tamaru ties the end of the rope binding Hiromi to a pillar.

In front of the pillar, Hiromi struggles with anxiety and fear, writhing her entire body like a snake in an attempt to escape.

(We also shoot several variations of the sitting pose on the tatami mats.)

Before long, the end of the rope tied to the pillar loosens, and Hiromi, still bound, crawls away toward the entrance.

Tamaru grabs the end of the rope and tries to pull her back. The pitiful sight of Hiromi being dragged along.

Dirty shoes and other objects are placed in front of Hiromi’s face as she collapses at the entrance. Hiromi’s expression is one of utter humiliation.

(The entrance hall of the Yamanouchi residence is brimming with a vibrant sense of daily life, making it the perfect setting for a bound woman, so I want to shoot several variations.)

Hiromi, made of straw, hangs beneath the eaves alongside a teru teru bozu.

A pitiful sight, standing barefoot on tiptoes.

(I won’t hang her upside down. There’s no point in doing that.)

This scene would be perfect if it were raining, but even if it isn’t, it’s fine as long as it conveys a gloomy, overcast atmosphere.

(I feel that the whiteness of the teru teru bozu, made of white cloth, and Hiromi’s white hand towel gag create an exquisite balance and an evocative connection. Since this is the climax and a symbolic scene in the story, I want to capture a great photo overflowing with a sense of victimhood.)

From this “teru teru bozu” scene, I’d like to move on to the “Horsetail Garden” scene.

(There is a garden with dense stands of horsetails right next to where the teru teru bozu is hung.)

When placing the bound woman in this strangely shaped horsetail garden, producer Nakahara envisioned having Hiromi’s entire body completely soaked.

“That sounds great. If we can pull that off, it’ll make for the ultimate masochistic photo. The horsetail will really come alive, that’s perfect. I’d love to do it,” I said, naturally agreeing.

The eroticism of thin, underwear-like fabric clinging tightly to bare skin when wet possesses a sensuality several levels above that of a completely naked female body.

(As I write this, I can immediately picture that scene with Hiromi Saotome in every detail. That imagination is several times more erotic than actually seeing the scene. This is the power of fantasy possessed by someone who is not ordinary. That said, I don’t mean to brag. In short, this is probably what they call the “abnormal” sensation.)

However, while it would be fine on a rainy day, it seems strange for a woman’s body to be soaking wet when it isn’t raining.

It would be unnatural for Tamaru to suddenly subject Hiromi to water torture here.

I don’t want to do anything meaningless.

Now, what should I do?

I think…

Tomoshibi was launched after we discussed among friends that we should stop producing those meaningless photo books that just list various aspects of bound female bodies in a rambling fashion.

I don’t want to suddenly throw in some cheap, unnecessary water torture here.

I want to maintain our commitment to creating bondage photo books with a narrative.

The bathroom at the Yamanouchi residence is truly magnificent. A breathtaking scene imbued with a rare, evocative atmosphere. I find myself wondering if creating a story where we perform a water torture scene in the bathroom for some reason, and then drag her straight out into this garden of horsetail plants, might create a natural, organic connection.

Let’s all get together at Tomoshibi to have a fun discussion about how to develop this idea and brainstorm some great concepts.