Articles

Kinbaku East and West

I have been struck recently by a number of differences between how we learn things here in the West, as opposed to how most of the traditional Japanese arts (kinbaku included) are passed down.

The concept of a ryu is something we don't really have much of an English equivalent for. The closest we come to it is the idea of a school, as in "school of thought." A set of unified beliefs that emerge around a body of work or a group of people working together.

The term and concept seems to have far greater traction in Japanese society, perhaps because group inclusion is so much a part of the social and cultural structure. The word ryu (流) literally means flow and the addition of ha (派,) creates the word ryuha which means mainstream. In a culture where difference is avoided and blending into the flow is prized, it would make sense that the concept of ryu would have deep cultural significance.

Posted by Zetsu Jun 23, 2010

Kinbaku as I Understand It

Recently there has been a renewed discussion on the terminology that is used to describe the Japanese art of rope bondage. That discussion, hinges on two Japanese words: Shibari (縛り) and Kinbaku (緊縛) with the first being the Japanese word “to tie” and the second being a word that translates to “tight binding.” Which of these words is “correct” is not particularly important. What is more important is the intention that each of these words express.

To me, shibari is the answer to the question “how do you tie?” And kinbaku is the answer to the question “why do you tie?”

Posted by Zetsu Jun 23, 2010

On the Takate Kote

The takate kote is a tie of great variation. You can't speak of it like it is a single thing. Different people tie it in different ways and different approaches to the tie look better or worse on different body types.

There are artistic versions, suspension versions, versions for floor work, and versions for torture (literally).

The first thing I learned from Master "K" was how to tie it safely in a very basic version. Anatomy, nerve compression, safety release knots. All of that matters tremendously.

Posted by Zetsu Jun 23, 2010

What I Saw at the Revolution

This past week I have been fortunate to be in Tokyo at the same time as Master “K.” As most people know by now, in response to his book, he has had multiple invitations to visit Japan, the most recent by Nureki Chimou, probably the greatest living rope master and an active bakushi who is still tying at the age of 80 after 60 years of professional kinbaku.

While I was not able to attend every event (nor invited to), I got to spend time watching and observing as Master “K” spoke with and interviewed some of the world's most famous rope artists and while they asked him questions about his own work, history, and kinbaku.

Just as The Beauty of Kinbaku was a work which brought together many different bakushi, histories and lines of thought in the writing of the cultural history of kinbaku in Japan, the meetings I was a part of surveyed the current state of kinbaku in Japan.

Posted by Zetsu Jun 22, 2010