An Interview With Master K
By Tatu
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. Master K: Thank you, Jim. I'm very flattered to be asked. I was born in Toronto, Canada. Like most people who realize in youth that they have a predilection for SM I was confused as to how to express/deal with this interest. At 17 I wandered into an erotic book shop in San Francisco and came upon two books that showed me the way. These were a book of the artist John Willie's cartoons and a beautiful, small, Japanese volume of shibari photographs. After looking at these books I realized 3 important things:
I became especially fascinated by the Art and culture of Japan and
China and devoted myself
to I was fortunate to be part of a "Junior Year Abroad Program" in Tokyo and it was there that I had my first exposure to authentic kinbaku and the society where it is tolerated, even encouraged. A subsequent 2 month trip after graduation resulted in my being given several rudimentary "lessons" by a young kinbakushi, a friend of a friend, who made a small part of his living assisting a known sensei in his work. By coincidence I met this same individual a year later in NY when I returned to the US for my first job. Several more lessons followed and these provided me with the basis of my understanding of kinbaku (shibari), it's long and fascinating history and its Art. More importantly, it provided me with several key connections, connections I've added to over the years, which resulted in my ability to continue to learn more and to begin my collection of kinbaku literature, Art and audio visual materials. Tatu: I saw your interview / article "Untying Shibari" in LA Alternative Weekly. In fact I featured a lead to that story in my last newsletter. There seems to be a growing awareness of shibari in the mainstream public. Do you feel this perception is correct? Where do you see all of this going?
I do think there is much more awareness, if not understanding, about shibari/kinbaku in various circles lately. This is especially true in the West. It's all very positive, in my opinion. Whenever an interesting Art form can begin to be fully explored and another people's culture and history better understood it's a plus for everyone. Hopefully, they'll be even greater understanding of the positive aspects of kinbaku, its unique artistry and its techniques in the future.
Tatu: There was also a comment made about your article from someone who went by the name survivor, who seemed to have been a model in the commercial BDSM world and left it and had some harsh words for the article. She seemed to not own her own adult decisions and is stuck in her past. Could you reflect up that post? Master K: I saw this comment and found it touching and very interesting. I also noted it seemed to have very little relationship to my interview and had several factual errors. It almost looked as if it were a pre-thought out diatribe against the commercial BDSM world and had little to do with the Art of shibari. I was glad it was the only negative response amongst all the others that were positive Still, I have to say I have a lot of sympathy for the writer. She made some very good points. The commercial fetish world can be very exploitative.
Tatu: As we have previously communicated,
in my own studies, I am somewhat frustrated with a
Master K: I'm very sympathetic to your frustration. It's hard to cut through the misinformation to get to the facts about the history, Art and techniques of hojojutsu, kinbaku and the Japanese SM culture which is quite different from our own. It's especially difficult when one doesn't speak Japanese. This is one of the reasons I'm doing the second book. As I said, I was amazed at the appetite for information that my first modest book and Midori's lovely volume on this subject uncovered. However, the facts are out there and are pretty straightforward if you're willing to look for them and understand. For instance, ... Is there an Art of Japanese rope bondage that goes back centuries, has it's own unique techniques and history? Yes. Is it different from Western rope bondage? Yes.
Master K: I sympathize. :) Shibari/kinbaku is: 1. Based on the many unique tying/wrapping patterns devised over centuries in Japan. These patterns, while refined somewhat in the twentieth century for safety and increased erotic enjoyment, have remained relatively consistent in look and execution for as far back as 500 years. For instance, the Ebi shibari is hundreds of years old while the Ushirode Takate-kote, which was adapted from hojojutso techniques to avoid neck involvement, is somewhat more recent. 2. Tied with Asanawa (Japanese hemp rope) of 7 to 8 meters in length and 4 to 8 mm in width. This is important because the length and width is key to properly creating the patterns both technically and visually and the material is key because, unlike most other ropes, Asanawa does not stretch. Therefore, the feel is unique and the pattern holds firm which is a vital safety consideration. 3. Tied with the express purposes of creating beauty, inescapability and erotic enjoyment. Obviously this last is the most modern purpose since Japanese Rope Art has become so much a part of recent Japanese SM culture. However, the concept of kinbaku-bi (the beauty of shibari Art) has a very long history and tradition, dating back at least to the Edo period (1600 to 1868) in Japan.
Tatu: Having participated in martial
arts I understand there are time honored traditions to
Master K: Certainly. There are classical traditions of Japanese style rope binding that extend far back into history. The pictorial book, Tokugawa Bakufu Keiji Zufu Kan by Shinataro Fujita published in 1893 clearly shows how much of "modern" shibari is drawn from Japanese history. It also shows why the teaching of hojojutso and other Tokugawa restraining and torture techniques disappeared from the scene, for a time, during the Meiji restoration. In Shinataro-san's brief English preface, despite his primitive grasp of our language, he makes it clear that the Meiji authorities were desperate to propel Japan into the modern world and deliberately cast off everything they could from their Tokugawa past. This included the shogun, the 250 year old system of law enforcement and punishments, including rope binding/torture, the entire samurai class AND all their training and techniques. Since it was usually lower class samurai who did the hojojutso tying for Edo era law enforcement, it's not surprising that the names of most of these people have disappeared. And when you consider how much destruction Japan endured during World War II, it's even easier to understand why original paper records are few.
Certainly Shinataro-sans beautiful, pictorial, book from 1893 is a rare one but it was republished in 1972 as Tokugawa bakufu keiji zufu honpen and copies are readily available in libraries. My archive even owns a copy. It's from this source and others that writers as disparate as Masami Akita, Don Cunningham and the great martial arts historian, Nawa Yumio, have drawn their crystal clear conclusions. Tatu: But what about the traditions of erotic shibari/hojojutso? Were there early teachers and traditions for this , as well? Master K: Yes. The erotic in Japanese style binding began to become more prominent at the end of the Edo period. We can clearly see this in the Art of Yoshitoshi and other Ukiyo-e artists as well as through the themes depicted in the Kabuki dramas of that era.
However, it's important to remember that the open expression of eroticism
as far as SM
It was also from these histories that Ito Seiu drew his inspiration at the beginning of the twentieth century (the 5 extant biographical books on Ito all make this abundantly clear) and he, in turn, inspired and taught even more modern figures like Minomura Kou, Chimuo Nureki and Akechi Denki. There is a direct line from Edo to Ito to these modern nawashi. And all of these people have advanced the Art of erotic kinbaku and produced articles, how-to books, videos, recorded performances, etc., etc., that clearly show shibari techniques drawn and adapted from history. They are the teachers and they each have presented specific techniques for specific reasons, some erotic and some very old. As to where to find information and teachers here in the West, my good and talented friend, Osada Steve insists that the only way to truly learn kinbaku is to take lessons in Japan. He may be right about this but it's still possible for the dedicated Westerner to learn a great deal about this Art if the right teachers, books, videos and histories, such as those I've just listed, are consulted.
You just made a great point with one of your questions that's worth remembering. Kinbaku is based, in many ways, on martial arts techniques and, as in all Japanese martial arts, learning the Art means understanding both the omote waza (or surface techniques) and the ura waza (hidden techniques) that go into creating these ties. The hidden constructions, especially as they relate to safety issues, are why it's not a great idea to try to "reverse engineer" shibari from photos. It takes training. As I say, the information is out there. One just has to persevere. A month ago you and I had a lovely exchange of mail concerning a beautiful Ukiyo-e print you own. When we first started the discussion you knew almost nothing about it, right? However, with serious effort, by the time we were done you knew the artist, the date of the picture, the subject and genre of the picture, how it was created and even something about its history. The same will be true of kinbaku. Tatu: Thank you so much, Sir for taking your time to share with us something of who you are and about your journey and understanding of the art of Japanese Rope.
Images in this interview are 2257 Compliant and were
provided courtesy of Master K. They are from his book "Shibari".
Information about his book and related 2257 information can be requested
by contacting Master K directly or
his publisher at:
Click the image for more information: Purchase Master K's New Book
Click Here to read Master Tatu's review of Master "K"'s new book.
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