The Document: Orgasm — A video from 1983
Today marks the 13th death anniversary (十三回忌, juusan kaiki) of Osada Eikichi (長田英吉) who passed away on September 12, 2001.
I recently got a phone call from Sugiura Norio (杉浦則夫) asking whether I would accept a shipment of old Osada Eikichi shibari tutorials from Nagaike Takeshi (長池士). A few days later several boxes of those videos arrived. Upon further investigation it turned out that Nagaike sensei had produced this series of five videos with/for my shishou (師匠) somewhere in the mid-’80s.
Osada Seminar tutorials from the mid-’80s
These are Intermediate Level 1 and 2, Advanced Level 1 and 2, and “Application”; the latter showing how the Osada Eikichi style of shibari was applied in real-life sessions back then. The videos cover a wide range of techniques, including the infamous ebizuri (海老吊り) and several other advanced suspensions that even today aren’t mastered by more than a few professionals. Some of these shibarikata (bondages, 縛り方) are extremely complicated and what I call “high risk” if tried by someone not possessing the proper skill level(s) and experience — and we are talking about techniques taught on video 30 years ago.
I was doing most of these shibarikata back in 2001 and 2002 while performing in the Osada Seminar style. About five years ago, but only for a few months, I was teaching some of the advanced techniques to a select group of students, but have since discontinued doing so due to the high risks involved. In fact, I have since stopped doing most of those myself — though primarily due to mojo complications and my more recent focus on the muga (無我) aspects of kinbaku.
Osada Eikichi was mainly making his mark as a live performer and thus didn’t leave a large body of work for later generations to study and enjoy. There are however, plenty of magazine articles, the above videos, plus a very well-done shoot of a live performance (1982), a made-for-TV documentary (1999), several not-meant-for-public-consumption productions, as well as a handful of “private” videos, one of them gifted to me by Joji Kawakami.
Were it not for Osada Eikichi, I and many others wouldn’t be doing kinbaku at the level and intensity we are enjoying today. May Sensei’s soul rest in peace.
Osada Steve ( 長田スティーブ )
