KK Correspondence, July 1953

Translation

KK CORRESPONDENCE, NO. 10
Published July 1, 1953

KK FORUM: A JOURNALIST’S SENSE
IN DEFENSE OF “ABUNIST”
By Kiyama Kensaku [reading uncertain]

In issue nine of KK Correspondence I gratefully read Mr. Numa Seizō’s advice concerning my newly coined word “abunist.”

He seems to think that I use the word thoughtlessly, so I would like to offer a brief defense on that point.

When I first began using “abu,” I knew perfectly well that it was not English or any other proper foreign word. At the time, however, when I wanted a concise expression for the person I meant by “abunist,” my own limited talents could produce no other suitable term.

Mr. Numa called it something resembling an academic term, but does the sound of “abunist” really give one the impression of scholarly terminology?

I actually wrote it expecting readers to laugh and say, “Ha! He’s gone and invented another ridiculous word.” To say so may make me sound unfaithful to my own writing, but perhaps there is something masochistic in the psychology that made me do it. Hardly anyone thinks a man ignorant because he says “Nazi.” People say it that way. Even the English word “girl” is rendered in Japanese in a way that an American might not recognize. Goethe is written and pronounced in several Japanese forms that would probably sound peculiar to a German.

Those are admittedly questions of pronunciation. But the same disorder exists in grammar and orthography. Japanese kana usage is disputed; even romanization has several competing systems. There are innumerable questions of this kind.

I am involved in editing several magazines, and what I call the journalist’s sensibility is an animal that changes direction with the currents of the age and the movements of people, continually seeking something new in the direction it has taken.

There are writers who cling to inherited doctrine and insist on the old kana orthography. Naturally it is best to use correct grammar and pronunciation when one can. But even a word supposedly pronounced one way may come to be pronounced another way by almost everyone. If the majority recognizes an incorrect form and uses it, is it not natural that it becomes accepted as colloquial language?

MY METHOD OF TORMENT, PART FIVE
By Takarazuka Fumio

Costumes for torment:

An unadorned navy office uniform.
A dining-hall white-collared uniform.
A schoolgirl sailor-style uniform.
The chic costume of a fashionable madam.
My own particular favorite, a secretary’s outfit.
A flamboyant revue-girl costume.
Another sort of new-face stage costume.
Navy trousers worn by a guide girl.
Bloomers suited to a schoolgirl, together with stockings.
The crisp dress of a dancer.
A splendid new-style young lady’s outfit.
A department-store uniform.

And so on. Then comes the next scene: exposed shins, hands and feet showing beneath navy cloth, and the joints of the body. Before entering the main subject, however, there is a piece of hot news that must be taken up first, the story of Kimiko’s first flowering. It happened yesterday and is today’s story, a truly hot item concerning a virgin’s awakening.

At the end of February I hired Kimiko, an eighteen-year-old high-school student, as a part-time worker. Her face was not so much pale as healthily brick-colored, with large dimples. Though small in stature, she had a well-balanced figure and was unusually well developed for her age. What attracted me still more were the legs visible below her uniform, fine-skinned and peach-colored. For a devotee of feminine legs like me there was no opening to overlook.

My first order was, “Be at the office by seven in the morning and clean the room.”

“Yes, sir.”

She answered briskly.

For about a week I observed her closely. I gave her various things suited to the image I was constructing in my mind: red pumps, a pretty hat, nylon underwear and other clothing. I was already thinking of her as an object against which I might try my ideas of torment.

The day after I handed her a week’s wages of 2,500 yen, I reached the cold office shortly before seven. When she came out through the door saying, “Good morning,” I caught both her shoulders and planted a loud kiss on her right cheek.

Her cheeks instantly turned pink. She darted back into the office. “My! That’s the first time anything like that has happened to me. It tickles!” she said, enlarging those dimples mischievously. “Then perhaps tomorrow I won’t wash my face before coming.”

On Monday, March 9, I reached the office at about 6:50 as usual. Still wearing my overcoat, I sat by the gas stove at the round table with the morning paper. Seven-five. Seven-ten. Still no Kimiko. Then she appeared outside the door.

That was the beginning of the first actual step in my torment of her.

“You’ll stand there for exactly as long as you were late.”

“Yes.”

“Simply standing there isn’t much of a punishment.”

“Yes. What shall I do?”

Her unexpectedly masochistic response surprised me.

“Stand there barefoot.”

“Yes.”

Almost unnervingly obedient, she took off the red shoes I had bought her, placed them neatly side by side, removed her stockings and tucked them into the shoes. Then she stood straight in her overcoat, still holding her bright-red handbag. The floor must have been cold, for her toes kept lifting away from it.

After about ten minutes I used the opportunity to say, “Don’t look at the clock. Turn around.” Before me were the peach-colored legs of a girl remarkably well developed for her years. At that moment an unmistakable excitement ran through me. Before I knew it, the ten minutes were over.

“All right, that’s enough for today. Next time you’re late…”

[The remaining small-print portion continues the narrator’s imaginative punishment of Kimiko through standing, clothing, shoes, stockings and observation of her legs. Several lines cannot be read reliably from the scan.]

ABOUT THE ALBUM OF BOUND WOMEN, “BEAUTIFUL BINDING”

The album of bound women, “Beautiful Binding,” announced in the June issue was originally advertised as an A5-format album. Preparations for materials and production had already begun on that basis. When we decided on the size of the photographs, however, it became obvious that A5 was too small, so the album was changed hurriedly to B5. This has delayed completion somewhat, and we apologize to everyone who has been waiting impatiently.

The change has also meant that postage, which we expected to be twenty yen, now costs more than twice that amount. Nevertheless, we believe the resulting product will satisfy everyone, and we ask you to look forward to it. The limited edition will not be distributed to non-members, so members ordering it must include their membership number. Any separate edition made available to non-members will be announced later.

JUNE ISSUE: A CURIOUS CRITIC’S IDIOSYNCRATIC REVIEW
By “A Curious Critic”

2. “O-Sayo Arashi.” Amid all the stiff type, this suddenly feels soft, almost like touching the bare flesh of a beautiful woman. Please give us more things like this.

3. “The Passion of Christine.” As one would expect, an excellent work from someone who understands the spirit of sadism. I kept reading with mounting anticipation, expecting a shallow scene, only to find something quite different. What a piece.

3. “Hell.” As usual, a narrative one never tires of. The red running shirt and red pants appeal to me. I envy the writer’s experience, though perhaps he will glare at me for saying so.

4. “Inquiry into the Roots of Torture and Perversion.” The advance notice made me expect something terribly difficult, but instead this was an admirably clear argument, understandable even to a poorly educated reader like myself. Even I understand the metaphor about a pinch of salt in sweet bean soup.

5. “Kub Slave.” Excellent. I keep wanting to find something to criticize, yet all I can finally say is “excellent.” I do not know what it is that makes the work grip the reader, but every time I find myself sitting up and reading on. The May contribution by Paul Clermont was also first-rate.

6. “Yukiko’s Punishment.” This is charming, and the work itself has an almost innocent quality. I wonder what frightening experiences the people around Mr. Tenkawa have. I would like to see it continued in June.

7. “From the Notebook of a Masochist.” I opened KK Forum determined to find something to complain about, but instead I was impressed. I admit that the parade of foreign terminology defeated me. Perhaps it is nevertheless something close to the essence of masochism.

8. “Abnormal Fantasy.” One of the most outstanding pieces in recent issues. It is certainly powerful, though this issue contains so much strong material that its motif risks being buried. Perhaps the author needs an even greater leap forward, though not so great a leap that too much flesh becomes exposed.

9. “Fragments of My Confession.” The tendency differs somewhat from mine, yet strangely the writer seems very much like me. The piece draws me. The intense stimulation in it is enough to electrify my feelings.

10. “Torment.” It resembles “The Woman Who Lost the Chamber of Disorder” in the June issue somewhat too closely, yet the heavy stimulation still excites me strongly.

11. “Surrounding Ms. Matsui Raiko.” The great project of the June issue, a roundtable that rivals the New Year issue’s discussion. The caliber of the participants inspires confidence. It made me realize for the first time that KK has readers of this intellectual level.

12. “Light of the Quarter.” Another splendid piece. What particularly fascinates me in this writer’s work is the description of the ample buttocks of women being tormented. Perhaps that is because I myself have a strong passion for the buttocks.

13. “Inji.” A novel that deepens increasingly as it proceeds. Ms. Matsui’s writing is like a deep spring of wine. Some readers apparently want the heroine tied immediately, but I do not. I dislike unnatural developments in a story. If I can remain intoxicated at this level, I am happy to be kept waiting.

There are many other pieces as well: “Afterword to the Shizuyasu Theater,” “Depictions of Seppuku in Literature,” “The Rainbow Staircase,” “An Expression Created by Tight Binding,” “Vamp: Actresses,” and others. None is inferior to those mentioned above. You can probably understand how delighted I was with the June issue. I have spoken rather presumptuously, and I apologize for the insolence of a reader who also has exhibitionistic tendencies. If anyone is angry, please bring a whip when you visit. Masochists too should polish their whips beautifully before coming. Men are also welcome. I sincerely welcome you all.

SPECIAL-MEMBER CORRESPONDENCE RULES

1. This correspondence service is limited to communication between special members of the magazine.

2. Anyone wishing to be listed in Fellow-Member Correspondence must include a membership number in the submission.

3. Anyone wishing to correspond with a member whose notice has appeared should send a letter to the readers’ department with thirty yen in stamps enclosed. The letter will be forwarded to the designated member.

4. Letters should not contain the recipient’s address and name. Use the membership number instead.

5. The readers’ department will endeavor to publish as many appropriate notices as possible in the Fellow-Member Correspondence column.

6. Replies for forwarding should likewise contain thirty yen in stamps and clearly state the membership number of the intended recipient.

7. Correspondence that does not follow these rules cannot be handled, regardless of the reason.

8. The former reader-to-reader introduction service previously operated as a general reader service is discontinued entirely with the adoption of this system.

9. Fellow-Member Correspondence will be expanded progressively in future issues.

SPECIAL MEMBER NEWS

We have received many proposals for projects centered on special members, and we thank everyone for them. In response to requests, we first produced the limited-edition album for members, which we regard as one step toward satisfying interest in torment. We are now planning a portfolio of period-style pictures and currently have an artist working on it. The artist’s identity cannot yet be revealed. Details will be announced when the work has been completed. Our progress may be gradual, but we intend not to disappoint your expectations.

[A short illustrated bondage passage follows on printed page 7. Several lines are too small or compressed for a reliable complete transcription.]

CORRESPONDENCE FROM FELLOW MEMBERS

A Tokyo correspondent writes that a visit to Osaka, Dōtonbori and Shinsekai gave him new fantasies of torment. The atmosphere and the appearance of women in the streets struck him as especially suitable to the world represented by the magazine. He asks to hear from people living something resembling the “newlywed life” described in the May issue.

Another correspondent apologizes because his previous manuscript was written hurriedly. His employer or household head examines all incoming letters, so he cannot use his home address. He has arranged for a trusted acquaintance to serve as a correspondence address and asks that future communications be sent there.

A correspondent writing to “Semi-M of Yokohama” says that he has almost precisely the disposition being sought. He wants the man’s wife to treat him as she would treat a horse, riding him in riding clothes, using the same methods and commands she would use with a horse. He says he does not require sexual intercourse and hopes that his existence as the wife’s “horse” might itself stimulate the couple’s sex life. He asks whether they possess spurs and a whip.

Another writer describes himself as a lifelong masochist waiting for the appearance of a sadistic woman. He appeals to women with sadistic inclinations throughout Japan to correspond with him and writes figuratively as a slave prostrating himself at their feet.

One reader asks members of the group for information about punishments used against nurses in the former Japanese Army, including those attached to barracks, hospitals and schools. He says he spent about a year at a naval school in Yokosuka and was delighted by material in issue nine.

A married thirty-year-old man writes that tying a naked woman seems to him extraordinarily wonderful. He asks to be introduced to a masochistic woman but insists that he seeks only to bind and torment, not to have intercourse. His wife, he says, has shown absolutely no masochistic tendency despite his attempts to interest her, so he hopes to correspond with a woman who does.

A long-time reader praises KK Correspondence for becoming stronger month by month and contrasts it with lesser magazines that rely on covers and illustrations rather than substantial content. He says he owns twelve back issues and can reread them repeatedly without tiring of them.

Another reader says he was particularly interested in the May articles “The Masochists’ Meeting” and “Miscellaneous Thoughts on Capturing and Binding.” He asks for more documentary material of this sort. Nude and bondage photographs of women are readily found in other magazines, he says, but photographs or drawings of muscular men nude or bound are rare. As someone interested in such material, he finds this regrettable and asks whether the agency department might occasionally include pictures of men. The magazine’s discussion of binding made him realize that his desire to tie or be tied by another man was not unique to him.

A younger correspondent says that since discovering KK Correspondence, a previously vague sexuality has become clearer. The naked female body interests him less than the sight of men restrained or gagged. He asks whether this is abnormal and requests correspondence with people sharing the same inclination.

JULY ISSUE CONTENTS

The editorial introduction explains changes and additions to the associated Kitan Club July issue. A new illustrator has been brought in after the artist responsible for illustrations from the New Year issue through June. Okada Sakiko contributes a personal piece. The editors praise a woman writer’s determination to continue producing fiction in which women torment women. A historical-fiction contribution has been added in response to reader requests. “From the Notebook of a Masochist,” billed as a course in masochism, has received a strong response from its first installment, and corrections and supplemental information were inserted during proofreading for the benefit of researchers. The editors promise eventually to summarize reader reactions.

Two youthful female confession pieces are singled out for their distinctive character. Material dealing with actual experience of seppuku fantasies is presented as documentary support for a subject that has proved popular. Continuing serials compete for attention, while foot fetishism and essays attempting to define the essence of sadism receive notice. A piece on female bondage enthusiasm returns after an interval. Several strong submissions have had to be held for later issues, but the editors believe the July issue contains enough varied material to represent the field proudly.

TICKLE TORMENT, PART TWO
By Kuma-yasu or a similarly read name [full byline uncertain]

At a recent burlesque performance I saw a scene involving “tickle torment.” The bodies were restrained and sensitive places such as the armpits, sides and feet were tickled. The twisting movements produced by the victim’s attempt to escape heightened the effect of the torment.

Tickling does not produce pain in the ordinary sense, but when a person cannot escape it, prolonged tickling can become a genuine form of torment. I have seen similar ideas used in Tokyo shows as well. Binding the ankles or arms and then attacking the soles of the feet, the sides of the body, or the armpits produces an expression quite unlike that created by whipping. The combination of laughter, helplessness and involuntary movement gives tickle torment its peculiar fascination.

[Several small-print lines are indistinct.]

AGENCY DEPARTMENT NEWS

Because this is the agency department of Kitan Club, a magazine that continues to appear reliably every month, we are grateful for the enormous confidence readers place in us. Our motto is prompt and reliable dispatch of carefully produced material, and we intend always to move a step forward.

People disappointed by exaggerated promotion or misleading advertisements elsewhere are invited to contact us. Photographic sets currently available are announced elsewhere in the July issue, and various additional poses have already been photographed and will be advertised subsequently.

FROM A SADIST’S CONFESSION: CONTINUING “THE ETHICS OF DISORDER,” PART FOUR
By Kondō Kikuya [reading uncertain]

The installment continues a first-person account of voyeuristic fascination with women’s toilet behavior. The narrator explains that some toilets are difficult to observe because of their construction. In such cases he tries a small cleaning window or looks through another opening. Large collection openings, by contrast, permit the lower body to be seen regardless of the angle at which a woman sits, and he describes these as the most interesting situations.

He emphasizes the importance of illumination. A dark toilet is of little use to his particular aesthetic obsession. Brightly lit, tiled and clean facilities are preferable because posture and bodily form can be seen clearly. He describes various types of toilets, cleaning windows and exterior openings, treating their architectural construction almost as technical research.

The greatest problems in his long experience, he says, are police officers and dogs. He recounts being forced to retreat after a watchdog began barking just when he had prepared an observation point. To prevent such failures he scouts a neighborhood during daylight, learning every alley and possible approach before returning late at night. He is conscious that being stopped and searched would be disastrous.

He carries a flashlight and a jackknife. The flashlight is used to inspect the surroundings and illuminate what cannot otherwise be seen. He stresses that this must be done with extreme caution because an accidental beam of light could reveal his presence and create an uproar. The knife is connected with gaining access to obstructed observation points, though several lines of the description are unclear in the scan.

The narrator presents this behavior not merely as obscenity but as an obsessive pursuit of a perverse beauty. He recalls toilets behind drinking establishments, inns and entertainment districts, and a succession of women glimpsed from concealment. The essay’s unusually detailed attention to architecture, lighting, timing, police patrols and bodily posture makes it one of the issue’s most extreme examples of erotic observation presented in quasi-analytic language.

[Several sentences in the latter portion of the installment are too degraded to translate without inventing wording.]

CALL FOR IDEAS FOR TORMENT

Whether they are photographs of bound women in the magazine’s frontispieces or materials distributed by the agency department, our motto is to create them in accordance with readers’ wishes and to represent those wishes as faithfully as possible. We therefore hope to reflect your desires still more fully and invite readers to send us ideas about how women should be bound or tormented.

If there is a photograph you would like us to take or a binding you would like an artist to draw, please write to the editorial department without hesitation. If possible, include a simple sketch. When an idea is adopted, we intend to present the contributor with a photograph or drawing associated with the finished work. Address suggestions to the editorial department.

SALES DEPARTMENT NEWS

As a department that operates on a principle of trust above all else, we deeply regret the small number of postal items that are returned or fail to arrive each month. Some cases are clearly the result of postal error, but many are caused by incomplete addresses. Please write names and addresses accurately and legibly.

Except when an item is out of stock, our policy is same-day dispatch, although holidays may occasionally cause delays. When requesting information, please enclose return postage. People who ordered the album without including the additional postage should send the required stamps promptly. Packages are wrapped carefully so their contents cannot be identified from outside. If you require special postal handling, please state this when ordering.

IROHANI SUPPLEMENTAL EXTRACT

A series of corrections and supplemental passages follows, keyed to line numbers in an earlier text. The passage describes a struggle in which a woman and the narrator become entangled, bodies and clothing colliding as she falls against him and the struggle moves onto a spring bed. Because the corrections depend on an earlier source not reproduced here and several line references are blurred, portions cannot be reconstructed with certainty.

SHORT CORRESPONDENCE

The editors explain that KK Correspondence is now sent directly to subscribers. They had expected at least some opposition to the change but report virtually none. Readers are reminded that requests for addresses or correspondence introductions that ignore the Special-Member Correspondence Rules will not be accommodated. Properly submitted requests will be processed quickly.

Some readers complain that the magazine and KK Correspondence arrive early or late, but the editors emphasize that they are issued reliably once each month and ask readers to tolerate differences of a few days.

The long-awaited album “Beautiful Binding” is expected to be completed by the end of June. It is described as lavishly produced. The editors also address requests that KK Correspondence appear three or four times a month, saying that although they understand the desire, such a schedule is not currently possible.

Readers are reminded not to mail letters without sufficient postage, since the editorial office repeatedly has to pay postage due. Matsui Raiko is said to be moving to Tokyo and preparing material that should cause a dramatic turn in her serial in a forthcoming issue.

FROM THE EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT

The June issue brought an avalanche of praise from readers and additional orders from booksellers. The editorial office is buried beneath mountains of manuscripts and reference material. Elections and cherry-blossom season have passed almost unnoticed while the editors continued working, even on Sundays.

A large quantity of valuable manuscript material remains unorganized. A specialist has now been assigned to sort it, and the editors promise that excellent material should emerge during the autumn and winter. They have finally reestablished contact with Kosaka Tamie, who says she is eager to write again, although her present employment prevents an immediate large contribution.

A public letter involving Hamura Kyōko, Kawabata Tanako and Shida Aoko is being included. The editors joke that they may be accused of favoring unusual women and promise eventually to organize a discussion composed only of men.

They also explain that the frank correspondence printed in recent months does not necessarily express editorial opinion. Such letters are printed as readers wrote them. Readers are asked not to visit the editorial office without an appointment; contact should be made beforehand when a visit is necessary.

PUBLICATION AND BACK-ISSUE NOTICES

Kitan Club is advertised as a monthly magazine of contemporary manners and customs, price 100 yen plus postage. The July issue is on sale. A list of available back issues follows, including special issues on confessions of perversion, Christian persecution, religious punishment imagery, pleasure in consolation, bound women, torment fiction, comparisons of Eastern and Western torture, confessions of perversion, male masochism, and the June “new advance” issue.

Publication data:
KK Correspondence, No. 10. Published July 1, 1953. Publisher: Yoshida Minoru. Editor: Shinoda Kyōji. Issued by Akebono Shobō, Sakai, Osaka. Price: 20 yen.