Nureki Chimuo Archive

My second novel is “Harukaze-za Autumn’s Journey” (written under the pen name Aoyama Miekichi). I wanted to write a bit about the story’s background. To find materials on Asakusa’s light theater and shows from that era (the 1950s), I reached into the pile of books and magazines stacked around fifty deep in rows of five behind the bookshelf at the head of my bed. The pile began to collapse with a sound: Sluuuurp… thud thud thud thud thuddd, And collapsed with a loud crash. “Hooray!” I shouted, then I sat down in a daze for a while. The books were scattered everywhere, a complete mess. Eventually, I mustered my resolve and started to clean up a bit. The collapse wasn’t caused by an earthquake. It was unstable because it was piled haphazardly. I had reaped what I had sown. Among the dusty hardcovers piled low, I found one. I couldn’t help but exclaim, “Gah, I found it!” “Gah! Gah! Gah! It was here all along!” Normally, by the time you’re nearly 80, you wouldn’t scream “Gah! Gah! Gah!” just because you found a book in a towering pile as it collapsed. But I cried out, I am free. Why did I cry out in joy? Because that one volume was the very book I had been searching for. So that’s why it was hidden away amongst my old performing arts material. No wonder it hadn’t been found until now.

A copy of “Yoriki, Doushin, Jitte Torinawa3 ” by Yasuhiko Itatsu, published by Shin Jinbutsu Oorai-sha, emerged covered in dust from beneath a pile of collapsed books and magazines. The book was published in 1992, so it is about fifteen years old. The contents are a collection of essays that feel inspired by historical research. Not only does it include explanatory texts from the Edo period, as one might imagine, but also entries such as “Ninja Night Tales,” “My Interpretation of Furin Kazan4 ,” It contains four verses of Sun Tzu’s “Art of War” and “The Nanboku-chou Period Surviving Today5 .” Out of 367 pages, only the twenty-seven pages under the name “Koryu Hojojutsu6 ” are my most precious, precious collection. You could say these are my most treasured pages. This section features no fewer than sixty photos that appear to be close-ups. These sixty photographs are incredibly stimulating to me. The author, Dr. Yasuhiko Itatsu, holds a Doctorate of Medicine from the Keio University School of Medicine. He is a physician. Dr. Itatsu, please excuse me. I had published a small portion of the pages on “Koryu Hojojutsu7 ” from your book in the “Nureki Shinbun” without your permission, in the form of an introduction. “Nureki Shinbun” refers to a private edition, published in only a very limited quantity. It's simply made from handwritten manuscripts, copied and stapled together. So, I thought it would be forgiven without permission. But with computers, websites and the Internet so widespread these days, it cannot be done without permission anymore. I will ask R-san, who is knowledgeable about IT devices and is currently acting as my manager, to look into it for me. I will then go to Dr. Itatsu and seek his forgiveness. Regarding R-san, please read the profile section on my page. Still, I am glad this book came along. This book could have been placed in the SM section of my office. Since the book is titled “Yoriki, Doushin, Jitte Torinawa,” I assumed it was an Edo period reference book, and thus put it in the historical research section. That’s why I kept searching over and over again, looking in only that one spot. Also referred to as “Ancient Rope-Tying Techniques.” For the remainder of this writing, I’ll refer to this subject as “Ancient Rope-Tying Techniques.” “Koryu” in this context means “old style” or “old technique,” or “ancient technique.” The Nanboku-chou period, 1336-1392, was known as the “Northern And Southern Courts period. Furin kazan is the popular version of the battle standard used by the daimyo Takeda Shingen during the Sengoku Period. This roughly translates to Policeman’s Jitte Rope. The Jitte is a special truncheon used by police and private thief catchers in Japan’s Edo period. Torinawa is a form of capturing rope to hold and bind criminals.

But I couldn’t find it. Frankly, I am terrible at organizing things. Not just books, but everything. I hate it, it’s a bother. So, even the books I had arranged by type on the bookshelf had become jumbled together. Even important books on SM practice can sometimes become mixed among old theater art books in Asakusa. Thanks to the unexpected collapse of a stack of books, it was suddenly found. I immediately intend to report this incident to a woman named Rakka. That’s right. The reason I was looking for this book was for Rakka-san. She said she’d like to read it. Rakka-san is the woman I’m closest to right now. Or, rather, it’s more accurate to say that she’s the one who’s been kind enough to be close to me. She’s a young and beautiful woman who accepts everything about me. And for that I am grateful. (Regarding this woman, the magazine SM Sniper has been publishing detailed articles about her in serial form recently.) It is my intention to take this book by Dr. Itatsu, lock myself away in a room with Rakka-san, and thoroughly experiment with the ”Ancient Rope-Tying Techniques”. The sixty black and white photos featured in this book depict a young, delicate, and truly fresh-faced woman acting as the model, bound with rope over her prison garb. That sight was truly pitiful and pathetic. I will list the names of the traditional rope-tying methods described in the accompanying photographs8 .

● Cross Shaped Rope - Rope used to tie commoners

● Kaminawa - Rope used to tie commoners

● Split-diamond rope - used on commoners and travelling merchants crossing the border

● Noribishi nawa - Rope used to tie commoners

● Gekai nawa - rope used on a strong-man

● Return rope - rope to bind a priest

● Hawk’s Feather Return Rope - rope to bind a priest

● Shimenawa (sacred rope) - rope to bind a shrine priest

● Oizuri rope - rope hung on the Yamabushi

● Feathered rope - for duels, as it does not bind the wrist

● Chikakenawa - rope placed around a woman’s neck

● Foot-binding rope - used aboard ships, and also for strongmen

● Double-diamond rope - used to bind samurai

● Staying rope - rope used to bind those good at escaping

● Cutting rope - rope used for beheading

● Helping rope (tasukenawa) - rope used to transfer prisoners

Since I do not have this particular book, I cannot compare the photos. Also, the techniques here do not appear in the dictionaries I have access to. I suspect, since the book they are mentioned in is about the Edo period, these terms are archaic Japanese. Interestingly, these techniques appear on SMpedia: https://smpedia.com/index.php/%E6%8D%95%E7%B8%84%E8%A1%93 for reference.

● Takasa-ryu women’s rope (front). Takasa-ryu women’s rope (back).

● Takasu-ryū Shajin-nawa (Front). Takasu-ryū Shajin-nawa (Back). Takasu-ryū

Akusō-nawa. Takasu-ryū Muban-nawa. Takasu-ryu: Five-Tube Rope (Front). Takasu-ryu: Five-Tube Rope (Back). Shosho-ryu: Cage Rope (Front). Shosho-ryu: Cage Rope (Back). Shosho-ryu: Tube Rope (Front). Shosho-ryu: Tube Rope (Back). Shosho-ryu: Fin Rope (Front). Shosho-ryu: Fin Rope (Back). Ahh, I’m exhausted. Writing it out isn’t easy either, this is only half, in other words 30 techniques. The name that accompanies each photograph of “Ancient Rope-Tying Techniques” is one of thirty varieties. The rest will be included next time. (Actually, I’m writing this piece by hand while R-san types it on the computer so everyone can see it.) Thank you, R-san. Since writing is hard work, typing must be hard as well. I appreciate it. Dr. Itatsu, taking photos like this with a young, cute girl as the model, if you ask me, is a thoroughly delightful and theatrical act. It’s theatrical. It’s because of this theatricality that SM play is so pleasurable. Next time, I’ll write about that very point.