The SM Detective

Master K seems to have pulled off another coup.

Have you ever wondered who did the ropework for such Nikkatsu classics as Flower and Snake and Wife to Be Sacrificed? I had always just assumed it was a different guy each time. And since, compared to much of today's work, the technique appeared less sophisticated, I figured they just got whoever was handy at the time to apply the ropes.

Wrong.

A fellow by the name of Urato Hiroshi was the rigger according to Master K. And not just for the two most famous flicks mentioned above.

"The kinbaku devised for over 40 of the most famous Nikkatsu films was the product of one man -- the mysterious and reclusive Urato Hiroshi. It's taken years to find him but thanks to luck and persistence we managed to track him down for 6 hours of interview in order to present his remarkable story for the very first time."

Now, I am a little confused here. I'm not sure if this refers to information already contained in Master K's book, The Beauty of Kinbaku, or if this is something new (Ed. New info here. See comment). In any event, a series of short articles on the subject are appearing at the book's website. At the top you will see a section called Master K Files. Click on that and it will take you to the latest update.

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Missed this one.

The photo was taken by Nobuyoshi Araki for an ad to run in some UK mags for an Italian tile company. The ad was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority.

You know, with all this banning going on we must all be a lot better off.

How's that working out for you?

KabukiJoe

That's correct. Sugimoto Aya, star of the two most recent iterations of Hana to Hebi, would rather attend a cocktail party in the buff than wear fur. I must agree with this sentiment even though I do have some issues with the cause she is supporting here.

I had read that Ms. Sugimoto recently donated her time and her luscious body to the animal rights group, PETA, but had never come across the photographic evidence. Well, now I have and here Ms. Sugimoto is in all her naked glory.

To be honest, the photograph is tastefully shot so I guess it doesn't really show all the glory that is Ms. Sugimoto. Close enough, though. No complaints here.

Speaking of Hana to Hebi (Flower and Snake), I just realized that Uzuki Taeko had a non-speaking role in the film. She was one of the three women (along with Ms. Sugimoto) to hang naked from a cross and was in at least one other scene that I recall.

The reason I mention this is because Uzuki was Arisue Go's model in the documentary Bakushi which I reviewed earlier. Small world.

KabukiJoe

I hadn't been to Roppongi in ages -- by choice.

I don't care for the place. There are too many unsavory characters and, to be perfectly honest, they mostly have a gaijin face. Westerners fuck the place up for me, whether they be intemperate Marines or annoying Nigerians.

Of course, you're likely to see a lot of Westerners in Roppongi since this is where most of the embassies are situated. It is also a center of adult-oriented nightlife which seems to bring out the worst elements of the foreign community.

But I had to get over there again eventually because I wanted to visit the Dogma office and, as fate would have it, they are located in Roppongi.

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I came across what appears for all intents and purposes to be a documentary on Japanese bondage. It appears to be a British production. The embedded video I have here is quite short but, from what I can tell, it seems to have been shot very well. I was impressed with the production values.

I can't really comment on the content as this trailer is much too short to draw any conclusions. But it looks very interesting, and it has well-known bondage artist Naka Akira in it which should cause a lot of aficionados to take notice.

If anyone knows anything more about this documentary, don't hesitate to let us all know in the comments.

Speaking of Naka Akira, I mentioned earlier that I was planning on crashing his party in the not-too-distant future. Well, I did go over to one of his places but, sadly, no one was home. I had two addresses for him, both in Nakano.

One appeared to be more residential than the other. I really didn't feel like knocking on the poor guy's door if it was his personal residence. The other one was in a busier commercial area so I went to that place on a Saturday night.

Sometimes in Japan I can't tell if these buildings contain apartments/condos or businesses -- maybe both. Anyway, I gave it a shot in the hot, humid summertime but came up empty handed. Will have to swing by again one of these days.

Update: Thanks to the commenter below, we are informed that this was a documentary that appeared (possibly in 2006) on Channel 5 in the UK. Here's the link to more info. Not specifically a doco on Japanese bondage, but has some Japanese stuff included. It was called How Fetish Conquered the World.

KabukiJoe

Before I get started with Bakushi, there's some catching up to do.

I hadn't really planned to allow this much time to go by between posts -- just worked out that way. Summer is always a bitch in this part of Japan and it was just too tempting to stay in air conditioned comfort than go out and snoop around for news. Even a trip to the local video store was a sweaty, uncomfortable task (the store closest to me ain't that close).

I did get together with this young lady for tonkatsu and some drinks at a nice bar. She complained that this summer was not hot enough for her! True, it was a bit cooler this summer than usual but it still had me sweating like a pig in a sauna. But she thrives in the humidity.....and I shrivel.

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Here comes another Nikkatsu classic with the word snake in the title. Hebi no Ana (Snake Pit) is another film based on a story by Oniroku Dan. This one stars the lovely Shima Izumi who appeared in several other Nikkatsu SM Roman Porno flicks in the glory days.

The interesting thing about this movie, for me at least, is that I first saw scenes from it in another movie entirely. I had thought that other movie was Shocking Asia but then I realized that Shocking Asia came out years before Hebi no Ana.

Hit the Read More link for additional coverage and a trailer.

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The following is a post I made at the Kinbaku group at FetLife. I'm reprinting it here on the assumption that not everyone who follows this blog is also a member of the Kinbaku group and vice versa.

Thirty years after the original Flower and Snake film starring Tani Naomi was released, director Ishii Takashi cast the beautiful Sugimoto Aya in a new version of the classic, employing the same name while exercising some artistic license with the plot. The original movie was based on a novel by Oniroku Dan. The original director was Konuma Masaru.

I quite liked the 2004 version. Wasn't as impressed with the follow-up 2005 version which saw Ms. Sugimoto travel to Paris.

I have read that the 2004 movie was a hit and seems destined to achieve a certain cult status all its own. After the movie came out, the producers released a glossy collection of color photographs depicting the juiciest SM scenes from the film.

I finally broke down and bought this collection. This is not a photo book. The pictures are loose, printed on photographic paper and come well-protected in a thick cardboard container.

I'm not sure how many pictures there are in all (haven't counted them), but there are a lot. Brand new, this collection costs 4700 yen and I would say it's money well spent for the serious aficionado/collector.

One thing: the photo quality is, I would say, a bit less than if they had been shot with a high quality stills camera. It appears these photos have been taken directly from the print of the movie. The film was shot in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio on 35mm movie film. The film passes in front of the lens at (probably) 24 frames a second.

Watching the pictures fly by on the movie screen yields a satisfactory experience. Printing photos from the film negative is somewhat less satisfactory. Was there no dedicated photographer on set? I'm not sure how these things work.

But that's a minor quibble. I still love the photos.

Undoubtedly, many of you have come across some of these photos on the internet. But this collection is the whole enchilada and a worthy companion to the DVD of the film itself.

Now I'm just wondering if they're ever going to put it out on Blu-ray.

KabukiJoe

I'm still out pounding the pavement, visiting Japan's most recognized names in bondage porn.

Someone asked me what the hell I hoped to accomplish with these surprise visits, as it were. I guess I haven't been too clear about that. Actually, I have a few goals in mind.

First, I'm looking to pick up some freelance editing work. I'd eventually like to parlay that into work as a director. This was initially inspired by the fact that it hasn't been easy getting good distribution. If I hook up with a bigger company, I don't have to worry about that part of the equation.

Hit the Read More link for additional coverage and videos.

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A reader wrote to me inquiring about a video he had seen online. He believed the title was Kunoichi and he supplied the URL. He was interested in getting more information on this video.

I checked it out. Although this was definitely a Japanese video, the site in question was completely in English. Furthermore, it appeared that someone had uploaded virtually the entire video. It's a free streaming site and the video was broken up into four segments. I link to, or embed, short videos and trailers. I don't link to these kinds of sites for obvious reasons.

Hit the Read More link for additional coverage and a video.

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