Nureki Chimuo Archive

2007.11.16 濡木痴夢男のおしゃべり芝居 第二十一回 Nureki Chimuo’s Talking Theater Chapter 21 「縄師」を名乗る気持ち The Mindset of Calling Oneself a “Rope Master [Nawashi]” Iidabashi Station is now served not only by JR but also by the Tokyo Metro and Toei Oedo Line, making it extremely convenient. I received a call from Nakahara Rutsu-san, the director of the Sex Industry Museum26 near Iidabashi Station. The question was, “I don’t think it’s a good idea to describe you as a ‘rope master,’ but how should we phrase it when writing your introductory profile?” Actually, we have asked Nakahara-san to write the commentary for the sixth paperback edition of my work, “Kinbaku: As Long as I Live,” which will be published by Kawade Shobo Shinsha. Nakahara-san has read nearly all the novels, short stories, and essays I’ve written over the past fifty years. She is truly a blessing to me. After all, I have over a dozen pen names, each tailored to different tastes. She meticulously reads all my writing, long and short, under these various pseudonyms. As the director of the Sex Industry Museum, she is absolutely the perfect person for the job. Not merely reading, but possessing exceptional comprehension of the work’s content and even greater analytical skills. The sheer breadth of knowledge, depth of understanding, and sharp sensibility across the entire spectrum of “SM” astounds me. Someone who is utterly immersed, up to their neck, in this complex and bizarre (as the world might see it, though I do not) yet elegantly heretical world brimming with obscene beauty. This isn’t flattery, she genuinely knows the ins and outs of a wide range of SM preferences. When she talks, she keeps hitting the nail on the head. Sometimes I’m left speechless and amazed. The Fuzoku Museum in Iidabashi, also called the Abnormal Museum, or the Museum of Sexual Entertainment, collects and stores publications from the Japanese SM industry and acts as a reading room.

I’ll stop praising her here, it could go on forever. In other words, I felt there was no one more suitable than him to write the “introduction” for my new collection of essays, published as a single volume. Knowing full well how busy she is as the museum director, I insisted she take on the task. Fortunately, she agreed, and she is currently writing that “introduction.” “Nureki Sensei probably dislikes being called a ‘rope master,’” said Director Nakahara. “It’s not so much that I dislike it, but I think that term is wrong. A dollmaker is someone who makes dolls. Someone who manipulates dolls is called a puppeteer. A rope maker is someone who makes ropes, someone who braids ropes. Someone who ties up a woman’s body with ropes, hangs her, beats her, and gets paid by their employer for that; is that some kind of ‘master?’ A ‘master’ is someone who teaches and guides others. The dictionary says it’s someone admirable, a role model. What’s admirable about a man who gets off on tying up women? It’s utterly ridiculous. The term ‘master’ was originally a title of respect for those in religious positions. Like a priest, pastor, Zen master, a great master…” This is the same old nonsense I’ve been spouting over and over again, in various magazines, in books, and even when appearing in video footage. It might be a flimsy excuse, but I truly mean it. If you don’t understand the meaning of the phrase “utterly ridiculous,” please look it up in the dictionary. It’s in every dictionary. “Then what should I write?” asked Director Nakahara. “Well, as you know, Director, in the texts I write about myself, I simply describe my role as ‘bondage specialist27 ’...” For the past twenty-odd years, I have frequently been used on the sets of what are referred to as “SM videos.” On a video shoot, besides the performers, there is a producer who bears full responsibility for the work, a director, a cameraman, a lighting technician, a sound technician, and a costume and makeup artist. Each of these has assistants. Among such people, there are also “persons in charge of restraints.” In terms of authority, they are entirely on the same level. They aren’t particularly great enough to be called “masters.” They don’t even have assistants. 縛り係: shibari gakari is the term.

Their role is simply to tie up the actress with rope when necessary, at the director’s instruction. Unlike lighting or sound recording technicians, who are responsible throughout the entire drama production, actresses are not bound from the beginning to the end of filming. Therefore, the need for a “bondage specialist” is extremely limited in time. Sometimes, I appear in the drama myself, capturing the movement of the ropes binding the actress on camera, but most of the time I’m the “behind-the-scenes” crew who never appears on screen. Binding the actress’s body with ropes to make it look authentic may be an important role, but then again, lighting, sound, recording, makeup, and the cameraman all have equally vital tasks. If even one person is missing, filming cannot proceed. Yet why on earth did they give the “restraint technician” such an ill-fitting stage name like “rope master?” Who the hell started calling a mere rope technician something as pretentious as a “rope master?” I know exactly who it is. The very first to speak up and identify himself was, in fact, Minomura Ko. Minomura Kou, who under the name Reiko Kita worked as a bondage artist and erotic illustrator, wielding numerous pen names to depict every facet of the abnormal world, and who further delighted niche readers by writing SM novels under various pseudonyms, at his regular bar in Shinjuku. “I’m a rope master.” At that table sat Tanaka Komasa, Fukai Toshihiko,Yoshimura Heikichi, and Tako Hachiro. Of course, I was there too. Next to me sat Odagiri Sou. There were also guests I didn’t know. For the sake of the unknown guests, he introduced himself. “I’m Suma, a perverted guy who’s a rope master. Su for pervert (sukube) and Ma for fool (manuke), that’s Suma. Nice to meet you.” Minomura Ko’s real name was Suma Toshiyuki. At that time, Minomura Ko was the editor-in-chief of Kitan Club, 1958. I was a contributor who wrote several short stories each month for “Kitan Club.”

I realize this explanation alone may be difficult to grasp, but behind the term “rope master” lay the loneliness, self-mockery, self-flagellation, obsession with bondage, and even the humble dissimulation of a man who created Japan’s first “SM Magazine” while facing oppression from those in power, Director Nakahara. After that, he often used the word “rope master” in speech and writing, but he didn’t write it to boast or show off. On the contrary, he wrote it with the opposite sentiment. The night he first declared himself a “rope master” before the drunken patrons, once we were alone, he suddenly murmured, “Hey, Fu-san, I think “rope master” is a pretty good name for myself, don’t you? It’s kind of mysterious and a little pretentious…” Back then, whenever we were alone, he called me “Fu-san.” At the time, I often used the pen name Fujimi Iku. “Fu-san” was a shortened version of that name. “A rope master? That’s a new word, isn’t it? Well, maybe not so much as new as it’s unusual. If I told someone, ‘My job is being a rope master,’ they’d probably be confused.” I said. I was twenty-seven at the time. This was exactly fifty years ago. “Is it an unusual word? Yeah, it’s an unusual word. It’s a good word, hiding the embarrassment.” he said. Around this time, he began inviting me to practice “bondage play” with him. The performers were dancers from the Shinjuku N Music Hall, managed by Fukai Toshihiko. Fukai was originally a light theater playwright and show director. Occasionally, Fukai himself participated in the “bondage play.” “Does calling yourself a rope master make the shame go away?” I asked. He hummed, thought for a moment, then said, “I don’t think it does. I feel like it just makes me feel even more embarrassed.” Then he added, “But since the women being tied up feel embarrassed, I guess we who tie them must feel embarrassed too. Even though I keep thinking ‘embarrassing, embarrassing,’ I just can’t stop doing this stuff, I love it.” Minomura Kou laughed and said, “What about you, Fu-san?” “Me? When I’m tying someone up, I get so excited, my head gets all hot and fuzzy, and I can’t think straight. But somehow, what I’m doing feels incredibly embarrassing.” “I figured. That’s a good sign.”

After that, until the day he died, Minomura Kou never once called me “rope master,” not even as a joke. Thinking back now, I realize that right up until the moment he died, I was tying up a young, beautiful actress right before his eyes. It happened on the set of a video production called “Rope Flame,” produced by Cinemagic. “We always have to do this work with a sense of shame, Fu-san.” Minomura Kou often said. “Without that sense of shame, that fear, that lack of modesty, the ropes you bind with won’t have any allure.” he also said. Well, that’s how it is, Director Nakahara. The word “rope master” holds such sentimental memories for me. But since I’m getting on in years now, I don’t really mind anymore. I’ve been called and written about as a “rope master” quite a lot over the years. It’s childish to say “stop now.” But if they start calling me a “rope master” again, the real bondage enthusiasts would surely look down on me. I suppose I deserve their contempt. It’s not exactly a job that commands respect. Ahh, I’m tired. After finishing the 20th chapter of the “Talking Theater,” I immediately dove into this chapter and poured my heart into it, so I’m a bit tired now. Somehow, my head feels all fuzzy. To be honest, I began writing this out of pure sarcasm, finding it utterly incomprehensible that people in this industry would casually use terms like “rope master” and “trainer” without a shred of doubt or hesitation. But before I could reach “trainer,” I got tired. I’m feeling like I don’t care anymore. But I’ll try writing again a little later.