Nureki Chimuo Archive

I received a very kind letter from a person named Maruki-san regarding my new DVD work titled “Dream Rope,” in which I appear on screen. I am deeply grateful and moved. I offer my heartfelt thanks and will now respond. Before that, Mika Suzume-san also sent me a precious letter that means a great deal to me. I will write about that first. (It seems Mika Suzume has not yet seen “Dream Rope.”) I’ve been promoting an event I’d like to hold at the Sex Museum sometime soon. It would be for women only, featuring a screening of a portion of “Dream Rope” with me providing commentary on the spot. (However, this is still in the planning stage. While I have received approval from Mr. Naka Akira and model T.M., I have not heard back from Mr. ZOU. In other words, it is still undecided.) I wrote a little about this in this “Talking Theater,” as a sort of preview. In it, I added the note, “However, there will be absolutely no practical demonstrations.” Then, Mika Suzume promptly sent a very polite reply, praising that point in this way. “If you try to explain while actually performing the techniques, I feel like SM might turn into a silly comedy. I don’t particularly like what you’d call ‘bondage shows.’ I’ve seen and participated in such shows, but in most cases, it doesn’t feel like watching (or doing) SM. It feels like watching (or doing) something that looks like SM but isn’t. The essence of SM is transformed by touching the audience, leaving only a hollowed-out, dead SM behind.”

As always, Mika-san possesses a terrifyingly sharp intuition regarding SM and bondage, coupled with clear analytical and critical abilities. She understands my current position as if it were her own. For example, regarding the cameraman, B-san, I wrote about, she commented, “I believe the cameraman, B-san, is a fine photographer who does excellent work. I imagine he takes pride in his job and captures tense, compelling images. As photographs, they may be fine, but viewed through the filter of SM, they fall short.” And that’s exactly right. She’s absolutely correct. Generally speaking, he is a good photographer who does wonderful work. He has a pure character and is a sincere, good person. So I, too, could never bring myself to say something like, “As a bondage photographer, from my perspective, this is what I don’t like about you.” Even if I did say it, it’s not something that can be fixed at this point… Even if someone is a serious, good person, conveying the taste, atmosphere, and, as Mika Suzume puts it, the “presence” of SM to someone who doesn’t possess that SM aura is an incredibly difficult feat. I feel Mika Suzume-san sees the essence of B-san more sharply than I do, even though I actually work with him. She deserves respect. Next, this relates to the contents of the letter we received from Mr. Maruki. This is my reply to Mr. Maruki. Or rather, perhaps it would be better described as an explanation. What Mr. Maruki says is one hundred percent correct. It is right. I completely agree. Therefore, my explanation is less an explanation and more simply an excuse. As I wrote two entries ago, when I entered I studio in Hongo Kikusaka and reunited with Mr. Yumeryu ZOU (hereafter referred to as Mr. ZOU) after over twenty years, I found that six or seven filming staff members had already gathered around him, and preparations for filming were complete.

So, no matter how many times Mr. ZOU told me, “Don’t think of this as a shoot. Think of this as a private room with just you and the model. Do whatever you like,” the mood inside the studio had already, whether I liked it or not, settled into the posture of a “shoot,” something I’d experienced hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of times before. Even if someone told me, who had just walked in, “Get into a mood as if you’re alone with the model,” it would be impossible. I didn’t understand the director’s intent. Without any greeting or introduction, someone who seemed to be an assistant director approached me, placed some costume at my feet, and said, “please change into this.” “What is this?” I asked. “It’s a samue. Today’s costume for the shoot.” No arguing with that. “Eh? A samue?” I couldn’t help but ask again. For some reason, there’s this strange tradition on film sets, whenever you put someone who ties up women on screen, they make them wear a samue. It’s been around for who knows how long. I absolutely hate this thing called a samue. When you wear a samue, it looks like it should be easy to move in with its loose sleeves, but in reality, the sleeves flap around, making it really hard to handle the ropes with precision. No matter how short the sleeves are, they still get in the way of the fingers holding the rope. The rope used to bind a woman’s body must flow smoothly from between the binder’s fingers, like water. Let me make this perfectly clear. The samue is unsuitable for the actual work of female bondage. It hinders the free movement of the fingertips. Therefore, I tie up my models wearing a black short-sleeved shirt and comfortable, well-worn dark jeans. Even when I appear on screen, I usually wear this outfit. I focus on clearly showing the tying process.

Handling the rope with clumsy, dull movements and looking unprofessional is shameful for a rope technician. Therefore, to manipulate the rope comfortably and freely, I must eliminate anything that hinders the movement of my entire body, especially my arms, hands, and fingertips. Once, on a shoot for a certain production company, I was handed what looked like a particularly high-quality, expensive-looking samue. “Please wear this. It’s your costume,” the director told me. I explained my reasons and refused. Then, that director said, “I know you dislike samue, Nureki Sensei. But please wear this one for this shoot. Please, you’re a master rope artist. A grand master of bondage. If you don’t wear this and carry yourself with authority, it won’t lend the proper prestige to the bondage.” “Prestige? Why does bondage need prestige? It’s just bondage. Why treat it with such pomp and circumstance?” “You may say that, but there are people who call themselves rope masters and think they’re more important than ordinary folks.” “These people might be great, but I’m not great or anything. To think you can’t do anything without binding a woman and restricting her freedom, isn’t that the ultimate inferiority complex? How can someone who’s basically a lump of inferiority act all high and mighty?” “Don’t say that. Just wear it. That’s the kind of video this is.” Entering the studio, sure enough, on a white sheet over two meters long, “Nureki Chimuo Kinbaku Dojo” Written in thick, black ink. A set befitting a dojo was also complete. Reluctantly, I slipped my arms into the sleeves of the samue. The sleeves of that samue were thick at the cuffs, making them even more floppy and catching on my wrists, making them difficult to tie with. Well, this kind of ridiculous situation has happened a few times in the past. During the “Kinbiken” days, I absolutely refused to wear a samue. For “Kinbiken,” bondage is life itself.

Members of Kinbiken, and those who watch Kinbiken videos, should know very well that I dislike samue. When I wear a samue, I feel my concentration on bondage somehow slips. And another thing I dislike is that when I’m made to wear a samue, it feels like I’m donning a show costume, making me feel like a casual sideshow performer. (To all you sideshow performers out there, I apologize for saying “casual.” I know full well that behind that”casual” performance lies tremendous effort and training.) Maruki-san also mentioned my piece “Bondage with Rakka-san.” So let me state this clearly. When I bind Rakka-san in the “closed room,” I absolutely never wear a samue. For instance, I wouldn’t wear a samue to a love hotel (just imaging it makes me laugh.) I wouldn’t carry a samue in my bag and change into it inside either (obviously. That would be laughable too.) Somehow, without even realizing it, I always end up in the most comfortable outfit. A short-sleeved shirt that lets my hands and fingers move freely. This is the most realistic look (and if anyone were peeking, it would be the most powerful and lewd sight.) A samue somehow creates a sense of distance between me and the woman I’m with. Putting on a samue makes the intimacy with her vanish. Tying up a woman in a love hotel room is about as intimate as it gets. Wearing a samue while handling ropes not only makes rope work awkward, but it also feels like a mental hindrance. In the sixth volume of the Kawade Bunko series, “Bondage: As Long as I Live,” I wrote about wanting to make a bondage video starring Hide Ishitan-san. I poured my heart and soul into meticulously writing out detailed scenes like a script, but in the end, it remained just a wish. But I still have lingering feelings.

Even in that footage, if I appeared wearing a samue, no matter how intense the bondage I applied to Hide Ishtani-san, it would completely ruin the documentary mood. But lately, I’ve grown up a little too. During the filming of “Dream Rope,” I put on the samue I was given with a big smile on my face. Nearly ten people were waiting in the studio. If I hadn’t worn it, it would have ruined the atmosphere. On a shoot, harmony is the most important thing above all else. Somehow, I ended up writing all sorts of things about samue as if it were my sworn enemy. I believe Mr. Maruki, the wise enthusiast, understood the feelings I entrusted to the samue. I just wanted to mention that even something as simple as clothing can have subtle psychological effects on a man who handles rope with real women. Of course, some might say it’s ridiculous to be affected by such things; just tie her up hard and get to it. But, Maruki-san, as I said at the start, this is ultimately just my excuse. Nothing but an excuse. (Who cares about that? Only the content matters.) You’d be perfectly justified in thinking that. I simply chatted away, hoping you might find some interest in this heartfelt confession from someone who’s spent many long years as a bondage practitioner. I’m grateful you gave me the chance to share these thoughts. Next, I’d like to consider what Maruki-san refers to as the “photography faction,” “show faction,” and “play faction.” Mika Suzume-san writes, “When performing shows, I feel like I’m doing something that resembles SM, yet it’s different from SM itself.”

This is truly a profound statement. Well said. Actually, I completely agree. The expression “something like SM” is truly a perfect way to put it.