Translator’s Note: When we explore the history of Kinbaku and Japanese SM (the two are inseparable, in reality), we have a tendency to focus on the legends of bondage themselves. Names like Minomura Ko, Nureki Chimuo, Akechi Denki and many others.
But equally important are the models, both amateur and professional, that help shaped the content and the shape of the culture of Japanese SM. From Kitan Club to Roman videos, and to the modern era of Japanese AVs, each model provides a unique canvas in expression and feeling, and without them, Japanese SM may have never evolved out of primarily reader submission magazines.
Hiromi Saotome is a legendary model in the Japanese SM world. First staring in adult films in 1983, she participated in one of her first magazine shoots in the same year, for a magazine called SM Mania. The production involved herself, Nureki Chimuo, and Sugiura Norio.
These are the translations of her blog, located here (https://note.com/saotome6) talking about her history with Nureki. It is my honor to have them published on Kinbaku Today.
By Hiromi Saotome
September 7, 2020
The “Kinbaku Beauty Research Society,” founded in 1985 by Nureki Chimuo-san and commonly known as “Kinbiken,” continues to hold its monthly meetings without a hitch. Here is how the meetings proceed.
Nureki-san takes his time tying up one or several models, while participants carefully observe the scene or take photographs. Then, the chief photographer, Akio Fuji-san, captures the action with the same level of dedication as a professional photo shoot. I really enjoyed that sense of tension. Fuji-san studied under Norio Sugiura-san and worked for SM magazines, but at the time, he was also a mountain photographer. It seems he ended up taking on the role of managing the society by chance.
Fuji-san was, as expected, the true heir to Sugiura-san. His shooting style was very similar, and he pushed the models to their limits. “Okay, here we go! Tilt your head back more! Put some feeling into it! That’s it… cry!” He relentlessly pushed the bound models, capturing the expressions that welled up from deep within their bodies. As a result, a steady stream of bondage photographs, filled with a sensuous sense of masochism that had been excluded from commercial SM magazines at the time, were being produced one after another.
Nureki: “As we’ve met time and again, I’ve come to wonder more and more, who do women who ‘love rope’ hold onto such outdated notions of chastity? The women who come to the Kinbiken are stubborn, headstrong, sadistic, and each has their own particular quirks. So, unless I infuse their mental strength into the rope, I’ll be overwhelmed by their intensity. They all call me ‘Sensei, Sensei’ and look up to me, but if I let go of the rope, they’ll just turn their backs on me (laughs).) But the truth is, I’m a hemp rope fetishist myself. The concept of ‘the beauty of bondage’ exists precisely to enjoy the profound pleasure of fetishism, S, M, and F (fetishism) are intricately intertwined, blending into a single, seamless whole. So, really, we shouldn’t call it ‘SM’ but rather ‘SMF’.”
It was precisely because of gatherings like this that, even though Nureki Sensei had left the commercial SM magazine industry, he never lost his time for bondage, and I, too, have continued to be tied up about two or three times a year (or more). Furthermore, with the growth of the adult video industry, the number of regular models increased steadily, and regular members began to voice their own strong preferences and fetishes, even trying them out at the gatherings (while many non-members were simply fueling their fantasies, few actually engaged in the acts themselves). Examples included authentic gags (made from hand towels or other fabrics), nose play, “female dog” play, seppuku, rubber, bandages, and diapers (I’ll write about these fetishes in detail at a later time). Even the models who had become regulars began voicing requests like, “I’d like to be subjected to this kind of play,” leading to a variety of fetish scenes unfolding.
Over 200 videos were shot at Kinbiken, and the group’s newsletter, “Kinbiken Tsushin” (edited by Nureki Chimuo), reached 23 issues. The group held 165 regular meetings and continued its activities until 2009. The “Kinbiken Tsushin” newsletter was printed in black and white and was packed not only with photographs taken by photographer Fuji-san but also with members’ best shots and passionate letters from members.
Nureki: “The purpose of the ‘Kinbiken Tsushin’ is to bring SM, which has become far too lewd and pornographic, back to the roots of SM magazines, to the era of ‘Kitan Club.’ People who used to read those kinds of magazines are turning away, saying, ‘Today’s SM magazines have become boring,’ aren’t they? (Note: This refers to the latter half of the 1980s.) The idea is to bring those people back. Thanks to everyone’s efforts, we’ve been able to produce a magazine full of passion, haven’t we?”
At this point, I’d like to write a little about “Kitan Club,” Japan’s first SM magazine, which is closely associated with Nureki Sensei.
