Nureki Chimuo Archive

As I mentioned briefly last time, I have to perform on a different stage twice this month.

We’ve been rehearsing for them almost every day. I don’t really like to use the word “busy,” but basically, I’m swamped, and right now I just don’t have enough time.

So, I asked Director Nakahara Rutsu and photographer Sachi Yamanouchi to help fill in the gaps in the script and structure I wrote for the yet-to-be-photographed photo book, “The Feel of Water.”

Both of them are as busy as ever, but they squeezed in a little time to get together and, just the two of them, thoroughly fleshed out the shooting script.

(Actually, I wish Hiromi Saotome could have joined us as well, but she, too, is facing an important performance with significant responsibility coming up soon, and she simply cannot adjust her schedule due to preparations and rehearsals. In any case, everyone at Tomoshibi is busy in their own way.)

On the day of the dance show in which Saotome was performing (and she was dancing a solo, no less, no matter how busy I was, as a fellow member, I simply had to see this). Director Nakahara, photographer Yamanouchi, and I gathered at a restaurant in Azabu-Juban near her performance venue two hours before the show started. While having dinner, we held another meeting to discuss the filming of “The Feel of Water.”

“Here are the shooting notes that Yamanouchi-san and I reviewed and added to the other day. Please take a look.”

Director Nakahara held out the neatly typed script in front of me, his face tense and grim.

It reads as follows, and as I read through it, I nodded in agreement one by one, giving my approval.

Tomoshibi Filming, Episode 3: “The Feel of Water” (Supplementary Notes from the Filming Locations from Nakahara and Yamanouchi) I want to add some variety to the opening scene. I want to create a thrilling and unsettling opening that is unique to “The Feel of Water” and different from the first two sessions we’ve filmed so far. The inherent constraints of the narrative. Clearly define the characteristics of each story as part of this trilogy. Carefully and thoroughly capture the rich imagery and dramatic, intense rope bondage narrative through the psychological tug of war between the married woman Hiromi and her blackmailer, Tamaru, revealing their contrasting expressions and emotions. This time, I want to avoid using money as a prop. To ensure that the water torture serves a clear purpose, not merely Tamaru’s “mere anger,” but the “coercion of a confession,” the prop for this scene will be a letter from Hiromi’s husband. —Scene 1: Outside the house The beginning of “The Feel of Water.” The moment of “capture” and “silencing.” Unlike the situations of “being captured” and “having one’s voice silenced” that I’ve filmed with various expressions up to now, in this third work, I want to capture the tension and thrill of “that very moment.” Hiromi returns from shopping. An atmosphere of modest daily life, as if she knows nothing. Tamaru lies in wait for Hiromi behind cover (a propane tank). Tamaru has taken a letter from the mailbox without permission (it is a letter from Hiromi’s husband).

Tamaru suddenly emerges. Hiromi is startled. Hiromi instinctively turns her back and tries to run away. At that moment, he pins Hiromi in a bear hug (or grabs her arm as she turns to flee) and forces a hand over her mouth (the moment she is captured). He then drags Hiromi toward the door. He must make her unlock the door and enter the house. He makes Hiromi unlock the door. Since they are outside and neighbors might see, she cannot make a scene. Hiromi remains solemn, suppressing her fear and revulsion. At this point, Tamaru must not let go of Hiromi’s arm (or wrist). She isn’t physically bound with rope, but Hiromi’s hands are restrained by psychological coercion. “Here you go,” is of course, not an option. “Twisting her arm.” That’s not it either. It’s the quiet act of “having her hand held,” an action that foreshadows what comes next. The image of fear creeping up on her, little by little. —Scene 2: Entering the house. A scene where the two of them talk. Make sure to capture Tamaru’s anger, which leads to the water torture that follows, and Hiromi’s expression, which amplifies it. As soon as they enter the house, Hiromi brushes Tamaru’s hand away.

Tamaru holds the letter from her husband that was in the mailbox (Hiromi does not know about this yet). Enraged by Hiromi’s attitude, Tamaru drags her toward a pillar and ties her up. (This time, he ties her arms behind the pillar.) This is not to leave her there, as in “The Sunset Room.” She is being tied up to be threatened (to make her confess her husband’s hiding place). (Her husband’s name is on the back of the mailed envelope, but no address is written.) I want to create a cruel atmosphere where the act of tying her up itself, rather than doing something to her after tying her up, serves as a form of torture to force a confession from Hiromi.

Tamaru takes out the letter he was holding and waves it in front of her. Hiromi is startled. I don’t want anyone to read this. It’s a precious letter. She wants it back. Hiromi struggles, driven by that desire. “You’re a stubborn woman,” says Tamaru. Hiromi’s look of contempt toward Tamaru. If he were just threatening her as before, demanding she “tell me where your husband is staying,” it would be enough to simply tie her to the pillar and torment her relentlessly.

However, at this point, a “rage” arises within Hiromi that cannot be appeased by mere threats against Tamaru. To force a confession, Tamaru says, “I’ll punish you even more!” (This leads to water torture.) Hiromi’s cold, contemptuous gaze toward the man is enough to make him think this. —Scene 3: Bathroom (Water Torture) This is not a place where Hiromi is dragged to be confined or imprisoned for an extended period, but rather to be subjected to water torture. As she is dragged along, Hiromi’s fear of what is about to happen mixes with her anger toward Tamaru and her determination to protect her husband’s hiding place, and she struggles against it. Her resistance is in vain, and Hiromi is tied to the faucet with a rope. “This is what happens when you won’t tell the truth. If you don’t confess soon, things will get much worse for you,” says Tamaru as the water torture begins. After reading through the “Shooting Notes” above, I got a general idea of what Director Nakahara and photographer Yamanouchi were aiming for.

Since these are notes and not a script, they might be a bit hard to follow for anyone other than the crew, but they really bring the scene to life for us.

I, of course, agree with the points made in these notes. Let’s proceed exactly as outlined here.

Above all, I am delighted and grateful that the passion of Director Nakahara and photographer Yamanouchi for this project is burning ever brighter, even amidst their busy schedules.

The idea of filming the scene where the blackmailer, Tamaru, appears from a different angle than before is also excellent.

However, since this is bondage photography and not video footage, it would be better not to emphasize the man’s body.

(Of course, I am the one playing the role of this blackmailer.)

As a general rule, it would be better to structure it like a one-woman show starring HIromi Saotome.

Since the shooting location is the same as in Volumes 1 and 2 (currently in editing), the heroine and the situation are the same, and above all, since the story itself is a continuation of Volume 1, there isn’t much difference in content from the script I wrote.

If there is any difference, it would be that I have more requests for the heroine, Saotome.

The married woman Hiromi must clearly and realistically express a wide range of emotions. Shock, anxiety, dread, fear, pain, hatred, contempt, resistance, endurance, curses, and various others.

She must draw upon every facial expression and the reactions of her entire body to the ropes, mobilizing all her senses to convey these emotions with intense depth.

(Come to think of it, this is only natural. The expressions of the models in bondage photos up until now have been far too stereotypical, emotionless and devoid of any sense of soul. What we, the producers and sellers of SM products, have been creating are merely hollow bondage photos and SM videos that fail to reveal any true soul.)

Along with the changing expressions of the woman being tormented, the mission of photographer Yamanouchi, who must accurately capture them, is also of the utmost importance.

It is not simply a matter of pointing the camera at the subject and pressing the shutter.

She must use her own unique personality and sensibility to express the subject’s emotions more deeply and more keenly.

skill.

Ultimately, the success or failure of the work depends entirely on the photographer’s

“It’s no easy task for you either. You have to focus on the tips of his fingers, the way you plant your feet, and put all your strength into your shoulders and hips. You have to pour your soul into it. No matter how convincing Saotome-san’s expression is, if there’s no soul in your rope work, it’ll end up looking just like all the other bondage photos we’ve seen so far,” said Director Nakahara, as stern as ever.

As I transcribed the shooting notes for “The Feel of Water,” which Director Nakahara and photographer Yamanouchi had jotted down while facing each other across a desk and debating various points, into this “Talking Theater,” I finally began to grasp, even with my dull mind, the depth of their dedication.

The overly formulaic, uniform expressions, those emotionless faces, of the women appearing in conventional bondage photographs.

Or, expressions that look obviously fake and contrived (not just their faces, but their whole bodies look fake).

Neither Director Nakahara nor photographer Yamanouchi wanted to be part of that hollow collection of photographs under any circumstances.

These supplementary shooting notes were a manifestation of their earnest desire to break free from that kind of photography at all costs.

(Admittedly, due to my own long-standing habits, if I let my guard down even a little, I slip back into that old, easygoing mindset from past photo shoots.)

I understand.

My two comrades.

For this shoot, I too will focus intently on these “Supplementary Notes,” concentrate my mind, and demonstrate my true style of rope work.

(If this Tomoshibi production photo book ends up following the same trends as conventional bondage photo books, there would be nothing sadder for me. It would render meaningless the very reason I launched Tomoshibi in the first place.)

And then there’s Hiromi Saotome.

Saotome and I have spent many years in the same world, working together as a model and a bondage artist on the production of SM products.

We’ve taken hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of photographs.

But let me predict here that “The Sunset Room,” “The Horsetail Garden,” and this latest work, “The Feel of Water,” will be Hiromi Saotome’s true masterpieces.

Since these are Saotome’s masterpieces, they are masterpieces for me as well.

The shoot for “The Feel of Water” is just two weeks away.