The following interview is from volume 6 of SM 秘密俱楽部 (SM Secret Club) published in 1997. It used to be a relatively minor player within the Tsukasa Shobo Publishing portfolio - ranking behind magazine titles like SM Fan and SM Frontier, that left their mark on Showa era SM publishing.
After a messy change of ownership, Tsukasa Shobo went bankrupt in 2007. The interviewer for the article signs as Tajima Osamu, a fairly common name. An internet search hasn’t come up with any other SM-related works under that name.
Interestingly enough, the article includes mention of Osada Seminar pioneered by Osada Eikichi Shi.
Thanks to NuitdeTokyo (NdT for short) we can bring you now the English translation of this interview. Next to Master K, NdT is probably the most avid collector of Japanese SM literature. In the past, NdT has discovered another Akechi Denki interview (from ca. 1976) and kindly shared it with us here.
For those unfamiliar with the who’s who’s of the Japanese Shibari and Kinbaku world, both Osada Eikichi (長田英吉) and Akechi Denki (明智伝鬼) are considered grandmasters of the art - the former having passed away in 2001, the latter in 2005. The probably last ever interview with Akechi Denki Shi was conducted by Osada Steve (長田スティーブ) for Steve’s own magazine, Fetish Japan, and for SM Sniper, one of the largest surviving SM magazine players, until it folded in January 2009.
Before we now get to the actual story, a few words by NuitdeTokyo: Read more »
Earlier this year, Osada Steve (長田スティーブ) had the honor of being interviewed by Demon SIX (no relation to Studio SIX) who is not only a prominent figure at Fetlife but also a privileged member of the inner circle of Master K (no relation to Circle K). The interview first appeared in the Kinbaku Group on Fetlife.
What got you started in Kinbaku (緊縛) ?
I have had three rope bondage phases in my life.
So-called Western: From kindergarten to 1997, when I tied every woman I could lay my hands on.
Shibari (縛り): From 1998 to 2006, when the late Osada Eikichi Sensei first took me under his wings, and I then continued to train under the late Akechi Denki Sensei for about four years, followed by studies with Nawashi Kanna Sensei.
Kinbaku (緊縛): Since 2007, when I embarked on learning Shuuchinawa (羞恥縄) and Newaza (寝技) techniques under Yukimura Haruki Sensei. It is since phase III that finally all the pieces are coming together, starting to make sense to me.
In my line of work I make a clear distinction between Shibari and Kinbaku. You could say it took me eight years to get a grasp of Shibari, and I’m in my third year of trying to crack the mysteries of Kinbaku.
In any case, were it not for the unique window of opportunity, the fortuitous event that Osada Eikichi Sensei chose to make me his prodigy, I would Read more »
Alert reader NuitdeTokyo has sent in the following interview with the late grandmaster Akechi Denki. What makes this contribution so special is that the interview first appeared more than 30 years ago in a little-known magazine called Venus (now defunct).
NuitdeTokyo reports: Inspired by the extensive bibliography in Master K’s recently released book “The Beauty Of Kinbaku” I found myself bargain hunting for rare books and facsimile in downtown Tokyo, when I came across this little magazine. It featured a very sexy vanilla cover, but the inside was exclusively SM content. This issue of Venus is probably from around 1976, and to my delight it carried an interview with Akechi Denki at a time when the full talent of the maestro was yet to be discovered; at a time before he had started doing public performances – yet was already active for 20 years in the Shibari scene.
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In Shibari Untie Speed Is King
Why private play and public performances aren’t the same
In this article, we are introducing Akechi Denki a master with more than 20 years of SM history. Now in his late thirties, while managing his own business, he is working as a nawashi, acting as adviser for shows.
“My very first interest in SM was sparked when I was in the Read more »
Back in 2006, Osada Steve had the honor to interview Naka Akira, one of the younger Nawashi at work in Japan today. What follows is an English summary of their discussion.
Osada Steve: Please tell us how you first got interested in Shibari.
Naka Akira: They say that everyone has a turning point in their lives. I’ve had two. The first was when I was about 30 and running a porn model agency. One of our actresses was doing work for Cinemagic, a well-known SM video production company, and I happened to attend one of her video shoots. Although I thought I had absolutely Read more »
This interview with Shibari grandmaster Nureki Chimuo dates back to 2006, when Osada Steve took international video artist Hito Steyerl on a Tokyo tour for her video installation Lovey Andrea at the Documenta 2007.
Nureki Chimuo is also featured in the recently released Bakushi movie together with grandmaster Yukimura Haruki.
Rope is what the doctor ordered
by Osada Steve
Just as maverick photographer Nobuyoshi Araki claims to have been born with a lens on his nose, veteran Kinbaku grandmaster Nureki Chimuo too has an interesting story to tell: “I did my first bondage tying up the nurse with my umbilical cord,” he reveals. It’s only natural that geniuses get started early in life. Neither Araki nor Nureki, so it seems, chose their craft. Rather, their craft chose them.
Having tied about 4,500 women to date, Nureki is by a wide margin Read more »
Grandmaster Osada Eikichi (March 15, 1925 to September 12, 2001) passed away seven years ago on September 12, 2001. Technically speaking, with Japan being the Land of the Rising Sun, this coincides with 9-11, at least for our North American fans, making it a date easy to remember.
Dubbed the Flying Rope Man by the Tokyo Journal in 1999, the legendary Osada Eikichi is generally recognized as the fastest rope artist ever.
Here’s a short interview with Osada Steve about his sensei.
TieBreaker: When and how did you first meet Osada Eikichi?
Osada Steve: I first met Osada sensei in 1998, while producing a series of Tokyo Underground features for Read more »
The latest in our series of unique and insightful interviews with the topshibarimasters. This interview ofMiura Takumiwas conducted byOsada Steveand represents another in a line of interviews at TokyoBound which are as illuminating as they are rare. — KJ
Osada Steve: You’ve been doing shibari for about 15 years, the last seven years as a professional nawashi. What is it about shibari that interests you so much that you are devoting your life to it?
Miura Takumi: I was first attracted to shibari because of an interest in Read more »
Esinem plies his trade in the UK and the EU and has made it to the Far East now on two different occasions. He just finished up an intensive course with Osada Steve and also managed to squeeze in some visits to various SM live shows and events as well as to the lairs of Tokyo’s cruelest mistresses. But those things were nothing compared to an ordinary-looking Korean restaurant in Shin-Okubo. — KJ
KABUKIJOE: I guess this was your second visit to Tokyo. When did you come the first time and what did you do on that occasion?
ESINEM: My first visit was last year for a month from late April to late May and was for a combination of reasons. Firstly, to fulfill a long held ambition to visit Japan, which has fascinated me for a long time. I was able to see a little of the country including Kobe, Kyoto, Osaka, Nikko and Hiroshima, culminating in a two-week stay in Tokyo. Fortunately, I have friends here and came with a couple I know from London, Read more »
Herewith another in a series of interviews conducted by Osada Steve of Japan’s top rope experts. Yukimura Haruki is one of the most recognized names and, by virtue of the thousands of videos and magazines he has appeared in, faces in the SM scene in Japan today. I suppose it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that the first time I saw a Yukimura Haruki video was about 20 years ago. But he goes back longer than that. This interview was conducted at Yukimura Haruki’s luxury residence in the Ebisu district of Tokyo.–KJ
Osada Steve: Of all the professional nawashi active in Japan today, I have to say that your rope work is Read more »
As promised, the second part of Osada Steve’s post concerning the amazing and unique style of shibari as practiced by Randa Mai. This second installment is actually more of a running commentary of the master’s technique with accompanying photos to illustrate the text.KJ
As behooves a professional nawashi, Randa Mai always brings his own toys and equipment, his own girls, and his own music. There are his ropes (about eight seven-meter-long asanawa, the traditional Japanese kinbaku rope made of jute), one or two candles, one or two whips, Read more »
