Pine (January), Plum (February). Cherry Blossoms (March)… in Kinokos new photo-book, there is a deep resonance with older traditions of Japanese art. Twelve months, twelve plants, twelve models – tied and photographed by Kinoko, sometimes complemented with illustrations by the manga-artist Shintarou Kago. I love some of the details, as for example the tenugui wrapped around the branches of the tree, not to hurt it when using it for suspension…
It is rare to find such a concentration of quality in one single publication as is the case here.
Master Kinbaku photographer Sugiura Norio has put together photos from multiple shootings with Kinoko, Hourai and Naka. Pictures capturing something like 20 models doing outstanding work is included.
Biographies of the photographer and the three bakushi are included, as well as individual picture bylines crediting the models, in English as well as Japanese. (Although in a poetic and enigmatic moment, the English bio of Hourai ends with the note: ”Text not translated from the Japanese version of Hourai’s profile above”.)
This amazing ”photo-essay-book” celebrates Kinoko’s 10th anniversary as a rope-artist. And what a decade it has been!
Both a retrospective, and packed with recent works, it features a lot of photos (all in color) – including some exploring the art of flower-arrangements, using the human body as the ”stem” . But, for an english-speaking audience, perhaps the biggest treat is that the whole book is bi-lingual. Kinoko comments on most of the photos, there is a long interview and reflections on his plural styles.
Excerpt from the preface:
”It has been 10 years since I began calling myself ‘Kinoko Hajime’. ‘Ichigo Ichie’ (a Japanese four letter idiom translated as ‘never again’ or ‘once in a lifetime’) is the title of the book, but Kinbaku is also ‘Ichigo Ichie’; you cannot tie the same more than once. The partner you are facing is different each time, and even if you were tying the same partner, you and their feelings will change every day, and the meaning behind the tie will transform as well…”
Nao Nagasawa, Hajime Kinoko and Norio Sugiura: 極私的緊縛野史 nao
Gokushiteki Kinbaku yashi nao
This beautiful publication is a collaboration between master photographer Sugiura Norio (born 1942), the outstanding model Nao Nagasawa (born 1967), and multitalented nawashi Kinoko Hajime (born 1977).
In addition to the B5-size booklet with high quality photos, it contains a full DVD where you can see the interaction of the whole team (including Hourai Kasumi). The first 50 copies comes with an additional ”behind the scenes” DVD with comments.
S&M Sniper Spring 2016: Naka, Yukimura, Kinoko, Kai and Marai tying Kawakami Yuu
The magazine S&Mスナイパー has been around, in different forms, since 1979. It ceased publication in 2009, returning for a while as ”Web Sniper”, a site still worth visiting (it also has a search-funtion): http://sniper.jp
This spring, the magazine was resurrected in printed form, with the nawashi Marai Masato as its editor. The first issue is focussed on the famous model Kawakami Yuu, mainly containing images from a recent series of DVDs (also released by SM-Sniper). It is really a high quality collection, showing the same person being tied in the different styles of Naka Akira, Yukimura Haruki, Kinoko Hajime, Kai and Marai Masato. The issue comes with an accompanying DVD, with shorter clips from this series.
So, while the issue might be viewed as mainly a ”re-packaging” of material already released it would be equally true to say that it is an antology of the most interesting kinbaku-material handled by the publisher SM Sniper.
The DVD ends with a comprehensive list of movies with Kawakami Yuu that is so long, it leaves me in shock – literally hundreds of titles.
Again, I try to keep printed material as the focus of the blog, but at times I sneak some information in about DVDs in my collection, as they are related to the book or magazine in question.
Naka Akira x Yuu Kawakami: Kinbaku 1: 川上ゆう×奈加あきら～緊縛～1 (TNH-03)
Yukimura Haruki x Yuu Kawakami: Kinbaku 2: 川上ゆうｘ雪村春樹 ～緊縛～2 (TNH-04)
Kinoko Hajime x Yuu Kawakami: Kinbaku 3: 川上ゆう×一鬼のこ～緊縛～3 (TNH-05)
Kai x Yuu Kawakami: Kinbaku 4: 川上ゆう×魁～緊縛～4 (TNH-06)
Marai Masato x Yuu Kawakami: Kinbaku 7: 川上ゆう×麻来雅人～ 緊縛～7 (TNH-10)
(The DVDs number 5 and 6 features Naka tying two other models, so I don’t include them in this post focussed on the Yuu Kawakami-issue of S&M Sniper. )
The book has four sections – Red, Black, Yellow, Green – all with different atmospheres and settings. It also has dense poetic texts on the different colours and scenes.
Large format, high quality paper.
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Every now and again, I can’t help myself including some references to DVDs, although this somewhat breaks the self-imposed limitations for the format of this blog (and limitations are surely necessary to keep some kind of quality, as well as limiting the time and effort put down on it). Anyway, this time I include some quick notes on Kinoko’s video-output, as this is a field where it seems he is currently expanding. Of course, I can in no way do them justice with my scribblings, but mainly want to catalogue them here for future reference (and as usual, to make them easier to search for).
For a long time, the only DVD I knew of with Kinoko’s rope-work was the documentary ”Nawa-shi” (縄師) from 2008 (top left on the first image above). It is a quite generous movie with interviews with Kinoko and some of the models, clips from shows, tutorials of some ties, and scenes from the club and other social contexts. (Directed by 広瀬陽, ASIN: B001EXGYJ8)
Since this DVD, there has of course also been made some more recent documentaries, such as the widely seen one by VICE, still available on the Internet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNSXNCaTYl0
In the Fall of 2014, Kinoko released the luxuriously set ”Kinbaku3” (緊縛3), where he ties the famous model Kawakami Yuu. The number 3 indicates that the DVD is part of a series (in ”Kinbaku 1”, Kawakami Yuu is tied by Naka Akira, and in ”Kinbaku 2”, she is tied by Yukimura Haruki). This DVD has been said to represent a public welcoming of sorts of Kinoko to the Kinbaku adult video-scene by putting him side by side with two older masters. I found it very interesting to observe how Kinoko’s tying here contains some clear influences of Yukimura’s and Naka’s (and indirectly Nureki’s, one could argue) styles, but at the same time keeps a very distinct identity in his subjectivity as a bakushi, with his dance-like awareness of his own movements, and the grace of his hands. (Sometimes the power and clarity of his touch makes me remember I read somewhere that Kinoko has training as a chiropractor). (Code: TNH-05)
In Spring 2015, the DVD ”Bakushi-Den 2” (縛師伝 2) was released, with Kinoko tying the model Kumire. This was part of an other high-profile series, this time with Yukimura acting as Director of the movies. Yukimura has a clear presence as an influence on the style of tying (this is, in my view, a VERY sexy movie). Yukimura is also stepping into the movie frame in the last scene, as a kind of a ”making-of”. (The first in this series, ”Bakushi-Den 1” (縛師伝 1), also directed by Yukimura, featured Osada Steve as the bakushi, Iroha Shizuki as the model.) (Code: AKHO-112)
Now, the latest DVD-release by Kinoko, late sumer 2015, is called ”Insomnia” (インソムニア), and features the model Nananano (the same as in the new book mentioned above). Again in a somewhat luxurious and costumey-style, the different scenes use different dramatic locations, sometimes with clear nudges to scenes done on film by earlier masters, while in every case staying distinctly original. (Code: VAN-001)
Kinbaku Books 