RJ's Building Blocks

RJMasters said:
Not yet, I was going to order it today, but think I am going to wait till towards the end of this month now till things get settled here.

I got a picture of it though hanging up so I can continue to look at it. Its not a matter of if, but when it will be mine.

The college deal is a bit wierd in that its already paid for provided that I continue to attend without interuption. So that doesn't figure into the cost or is not the issue. The issue is more maintaining the other monthly income so that I have the time to be able to go to school.

LOL, well I thought you would make that purchase a must when possible. :catroar: Hope the rest works out alright. Employers can be a headache. F had a meeting with his company because they wanted to try and persuade him to stay, but when he made it clear he was not interested no matter how much they offered, though he was wiling to stay until his projects are all completed, things turned ugly. We now hope it does not mean going into legal battles just to be able to take the job he wants, was offered, and has accepted. Nice to know so many want to fight over his butt (LOL who am I to not understand that?!! :D ), but just makes more stress where there should be none.

Catalina :rose:
 
The gloves I ordered last week have arrived... :devil:

These are the aquatic blue ones I posted above. Yes I recommend them! They are just plain evil for so many reasons.

I got one size smaller and they are a bit of a pain to wiggle into, but they mold to the contour of my fingers perfectly. I don't think they will be as good if they were loose fitting though.

Its like a cross between a paddle and barehand. It produces a sensation that is spread out, and the sound it produces is louder yet has a deeper tone to it.

The silocone gives it that rubberish type feel, good for gripping the skin or biting in with glancing blows. Add a little sweat or lotion and you have webbed hands that will glide along skin producing some interesting sensations.

I give them a high rating just for their flexibility in producing a number of unique sensations. The key though is a tight fit around the hand. Long or sharp fingernails may be a concern as they might wear out the tips of the fingers.

I like them and am glad I got them.
 
Last edited:
shy slave said:
RJ
I hope all aspects of RL work out for you, please keep us posted and know we are all thinking of you :rose:

Ty Shy :rose:

I know things will work out and appreciate the good thoughts.
 
Reasons to be cheerful ~ Part 2

RJMasters said:
Bondage, mayhem and pain as long as it is all done by Cashmere ;)

TY :) :rose:

ermmmm something to listen to perhaps as you work .Scan the list as well you can get notes from previous shows as well as listen to the archives. Of course I just like the 'Japanesque' music myself, really don't go in for that kinky stuff ewwwwww :D

The RJ Song

Ohh my bags are packed
I am ready to grope
I just hope I brought enough rope
With ends that are only just .....startin to fraaaaay

Cause I'm leaving ........................
 
Netzach said:
I also have no issues with the enjoyment of the performative aspects of rope and I see this as a valid art form as much as it can be a way for people to express sexually.

"performative aspects of rope"

Chuckles, this phrase made me think of viagra via starch for rope. :D

I am not sure where this is taking me, but I do have or see the artisticness of it. I think this is one area under the umbrella which one can pursue and hone their skills aligned with their interests.

Depending on how this unfolds for me, I can see that there is a strong possibility that artisticness may be the only avenue of expression open to me to practice.

I think having the best of both worlds would be my choice. There would be times when the purpose would be with intent for sexual and/or SM activity. Then there would be times when I just want to create a work of art and the exchange which would be derived from a person raising their hand and volunteering..."use me, use me!" Certainly a different type of headspace from a sexual motivation, but satisfying non-the-less on a different level.

I could see this playing out at a play party where willing submissives would like to experience this or even a Dom/Domme that might have an interest in volunteering their submissive/slave for this while they watch. It may even open some doors to be invited over to share in some of the skills I have learned with a couple who is interested in this.

As my grandma use to say...music, dreams and hope are all good for the soul.
 
Shankara20 said:
Oh damn - RJ, my heart goes out to you and your family during this time of change and uncertainty. Wishing you all the bast, Shank :kiss:
.

Thanks Shank :rose:
 
alice_underneath said:
"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."

You will persevere, Man of the West.

Alice

Ah but of course. Thanks :)
 
@}-}rebecca---- said:
ermmmm something to listen to perhaps as you work .Scan the list as well you can get notes from previous shows as well as listen to the archives. Of course I just like the 'Japanesque' music myself, really don't go in for that kinky stuff ewwwwww :D

The RJ Song

Ohh my bags are packed
I am ready to grope
I just hope I brought enough rope
With ends that are only just .....startin to fraaaaay

Cause I'm leaving ........................

Chuckles. Clever twist on words. ;)

Thanks for the link I will check it out and let you know.
 
I'm out for the day. See you all later.

Parting perv thought for the day. A Scifi thriller with Netzach as the 72 foot woman reaching down and grasping the tied up human dildo hopelessly trying to hop away.
What follows is a scene is much like the Ace Ventura's scene as he opens and closed the sliding glass window.

Laaaaaaaaaaa.............aaaaaaaaaa..............aaaaaaaaaaaa! :D
 
Final Reason to be Cheerful Sensei RJsan

Intent Means Everything: The Erotic Art of Japanese Rope Bondage
By Kathryn Fischer


Not long ago, it was difficult to find Japanese rope artists, nawashi, in the United States, much less access workshops on kimbaku, the erotic art of Japanese rope bondage, also commonly known in the United States as shibari. But in the past 10 years, the art of Japanese rope bondage has attracted attention not only from the BDSM community, but also from artists, photographers, designers and advertisement agencies, as well as people who’ve never before thought of bringing bondage into their sex lives.

Beautiful images of the body contorted and restrained, laced with a complex set of knots and ties, or suspended by colorful rope aren’t so hard to find—whether in glossy, mainstream lingerie advertisements or postmodern performance art.

The contradiction is that bondage, especially as “erotic practice,” is still taboo and considered by many to be the domain of a still stigmatized BDSM community. Because rope bondage is “pornographic,” rope bondage websites have recently faced scrutiny because of stricter laws of the 2257 regulations, which require strict documentation of all models working in the porn industry. Some of these records are no longer in the hands of current webmasters and are difficult to track down.

A Japanese skill dating back to the fourth century, rope bondage would be sexy and beautiful with or without sex, S/M play or teasing that sometimes, but not always, accompanies it. The tying and bending of the body into beautiful and asymmetric positions can be meditative, physically challenging and/or erotic for both partners. The final picture is an aesthetic masterpiece.

Bondage, in both Western and Eastern philosophies, finds its roots in incarceration. Western bondage stems back to cowboys and deputies, and even further back to medieval torture methods, utilizing materials such as chain, leather and handcuffs. Similarly, Hojojustu is a method of restraint traditionally practiced by Japanese samurai and police using hemp rope.

Just as in the Western world handcuffs have become part of many persons’ sex lives and police uniforms have been fetishized, in the early 20 th century the rope skills and positioning of hojojustu were adapted for erotic play and became known as kimbaku. Kimbaku gained wider popularity as the subject of erotic photography during the 70s and 80s in Japan, but originally appeared in scroll painting as early as the 14 th century, and dawned in photography magazines as early as the 1920s.

As fetish diva and rope-bondage expert Midori explains, “bondage is a cultural artifact.” To explain what makes bondage sexy, one would have to look at the subtle cultural contexts of our erotic imaginations. That which we find to be sexy is locked deep within our subconscious minds and relate to images we’ve seen on TV, on billboards, in magazines, and elsewhere in our environments.

“Japanese sexuality is about that which is beyond the frame of vision. This is often more important than what you see in front of you,” says Midori. The “beauty” of rope bondage is rooted in Japanese aesthetics, one example being that of the wind-swept pine bent asymmetrically by the pull of an invisible force. The body bound by rope represents such a force.

Many Western experts of Japanese rope bondage fell into the practice naturally.

“I’ve been tying things up since I was five,” says Dov, a rope-bondage expert who is probably best known for his rope corsets. “The first thing I ever tied up was a toilet seat.”

It took Dov years to put a name to what seemed second nature to him as a child and to realize that to the rest of the world, rope bondage might be considered pornographic or deviant. Dov calls this realization the mirror stage—when, in a Times Square video booth watching a B&D Pleasures video of a woman getting her breasts tied up, Dov suddenly understood that he’d been practicing the “erotic art of rope bondage” with his girlfriends for years.

MorTis, known within the Chicago BDSM as the “rope guy” and organizer of the annual rope bondage conference, Shibaricon, started copying the ties and wraps he saw in photographs. He built trust with women he met at local clubs so he could practice his new skills with them, and before long would tie up as many as 40 women a night. He had been bored by much of the porn he saw on the Internet, but as an artist the beauty and eroticism of shibari turned him on.

Part of what makes shibari erotic as well as aesthetically pleasing is that the touch of the rope is so sensual. Says Dov, “Rope is tactile: the smell, flavor, feel and color evokes a range of responses in people.”

Choosing the right rope is part of the fun, and it all depends on how long a rope you want to work with, how thick and from what material. Thinner rope tends to be easier to tie than thick rope. Natural ropes have a wonderful smell but can sometimes irritate sensitive skin. These are just some of the factors to consider. For a more complete guide to different types of ropes see RainbowRope.com.

While shibari can be erotic, tying someone up doesn’t mean sexual intercourse is necessarily part of the experience. “I’ll tie up almost anyone,” says MorTis. “But, only if we really connect will we then have sex.”

Dov agrees that one doesn’t have to have sex for shibari to be sexy and fun. “I can tie someone up and torture them a little, create tension through our energy … Sometimes, I feel in the same physical and mental space after tying someone up, as if we had sex.”

New York professional domme Laidie Magenta always keeps sex out of her job. This is what makes the tension of the rope so excruciating. In her words: “I like to get my clients hard within five minutes and keep them that way.”

As a pro domme, Laidie Magenta combines the power play of dominance and submission in her utilization of rope. “S/M brings in drama, layers of tension and release that aren’t involved in other kinds of sex.”

Practicing shibari, however, does not necessitate an S/M relationship, role playing or scenario. While there is always the “top,” the person doing the tying, and the “bottom,” the person being tied, there is not necessarily always the “dom,” the person in the mental headspace of dominance or a “sub,” the person in the mental headspace of being a submissive. In some cases, one or both persons “switch” between top and bottom, sub or dom. Much of the pleasure of Japanese rope bondage can also be derived from collaborating as lovers or friends.

“The problem happens when assumptions are made about tops and bottoms and what is what,” says Midori. “Active questions and listening skills are important. Make-believe is fine until you start lying about yourself.”

“Rope bondage is erotic because it has the ability to transform,” says Dov. “It’s an amazing tool, and depending on your mood, can be all about fun or sitting in place while other things happen. It can be meditative, calm or mean as hell ... It can be violent or quiet, depending on your perspective. It can also be very collaborative.”

Rope bondage is different for everyone and within every context. Some “tops” are sadists, and enjoy inflicting “pain” or “intense sensations.” Others are interested in fun and collaboration. As Dov explains, “Some bottoms go into a meditative zone and can even fall asleep. Others go into kicking and screaming. Still others are ‘escape artists’ and are more calculating about how they try to get out.” The loss of control and fear of being bound or tortured can be part of the eroticism.

The aspect of shibari that everyone could agree upon is that no matter how one chooses to practice rope bondage, the key is to keep all play safe and consensual.

At a workshop on Eastern-Inspired Rope Bondage organized by Black Rose, a Washington, DC based BDSM organization, expert Bridgett Harrington made sure to cover the importance of safety. Safety is also one of six main workshop tracks at the Shibaricon rope bondage conference in Chicago.

For anyone trying rope bondage for the first time, safety shears should be on hand just in case the rope needs to be cut. The person bound should be monitored to make sure their circulatory, respiratory and nervous systems are functioning normally. Their hands should be squeezed occasionally to make sure enough blood is getting to the hands in order to squeeze back. If it looks like a person needs to be taken out, cutting the rope might not always be the best option. Staying calm and untying the rope will best keep anxiety from heightening.

Perhaps one of the most common misconceptions about bondage play is that it is “violent.” But, the shibari experts gave a very different response.

“It is absolutely not about violence,” says Laidie Magenta. “BDSM is safe, sane and consensual play … Role play is a realm that may involve previously agreed upon 'violence' as part of a specific fantasy or scene, but role play is acting out a specific role outside of the player's everyday reality and it's under the umbrella of the safe, sane and consensual play.”

Midori believes that terms like “violence” and “pain” are too difficult to define to be used as labels for shibari. “Is it pain or is it intense sensations?” she asks. “A lot of people don’t relate to pain when it’s also pleasurable. Is that violence? Is there an element of power and struggle? It’s all along a spectrum. For some people, the rope is a nice cocooning embrace, the rope being an extension of the lovers arm. It can be extremely soft and nurturing ... Bondage reflects fantasy; it is just a tool. Rope means nothing. Like a kiss, the intent means everything.”

Whether intended for erotic play, art or just for fun—with a few basic ties—a rope bondage beginner can put their partner into a wide variety of beautiful poses. For example, tying the wrists together and then attaching that tie to one ankle or creating a chest harness that leaves the breasts looking like “pearls.” The most elaborate positions and suspensions used by professionals can be photographed and called simply, art. Or, just a few simple ties can be used for a fun and dirty scene in the bedroom.

Have fun. :rose:
 
@}-}rebecca---- said:
Intent Means Everything: The Erotic Art of Japanese Rope Bondage
By Kathryn Fischer


Not long ago, it was difficult to find Japanese rope artists, nawashi, in the United States, much less access workshops on kimbaku, the erotic art of Japanese rope bondage, also commonly known in the United States as shibari. But in the past 10 years, the art of Japanese rope bondage has attracted attention not only from the BDSM community, but also from artists, photographers, designers and advertisement agencies, as well as people who’ve never before thought of bringing bondage into their sex lives.

Beautiful images of the body contorted and restrained, laced with a complex set of knots and ties, or suspended by colorful rope aren’t so hard to find—whether in glossy, mainstream lingerie advertisements or postmodern performance art.

The contradiction is that bondage, especially as “erotic practice,” is still taboo and considered by many to be the domain of a still stigmatized BDSM community. Because rope bondage is “pornographic,” rope bondage websites have recently faced scrutiny because of stricter laws of the 2257 regulations, which require strict documentation of all models working in the porn industry. Some of these records are no longer in the hands of current webmasters and are difficult to track down.

A Japanese skill dating back to the fourth century, rope bondage would be sexy and beautiful with or without sex, S/M play or teasing that sometimes, but not always, accompanies it. The tying and bending of the body into beautiful and asymmetric positions can be meditative, physically challenging and/or erotic for both partners. The final picture is an aesthetic masterpiece.

Bondage, in both Western and Eastern philosophies, finds its roots in incarceration. Western bondage stems back to cowboys and deputies, and even further back to medieval torture methods, utilizing materials such as chain, leather and handcuffs. Similarly, Hojojustu is a method of restraint traditionally practiced by Japanese samurai and police using hemp rope.

Just as in the Western world handcuffs have become part of many persons’ sex lives and police uniforms have been fetishized, in the early 20 th century the rope skills and positioning of hojojustu were adapted for erotic play and became known as kimbaku. Kimbaku gained wider popularity as the subject of erotic photography during the 70s and 80s in Japan, but originally appeared in scroll painting as early as the 14 th century, and dawned in photography magazines as early as the 1920s.

As fetish diva and rope-bondage expert Midori explains, “bondage is a cultural artifact.” To explain what makes bondage sexy, one would have to look at the subtle cultural contexts of our erotic imaginations. That which we find to be sexy is locked deep within our subconscious minds and relate to images we’ve seen on TV, on billboards, in magazines, and elsewhere in our environments.

“Japanese sexuality is about that which is beyond the frame of vision. This is often more important than what you see in front of you,” says Midori. The “beauty” of rope bondage is rooted in Japanese aesthetics, one example being that of the wind-swept pine bent asymmetrically by the pull of an invisible force. The body bound by rope represents such a force.

Many Western experts of Japanese rope bondage fell into the practice naturally.

“I’ve been tying things up since I was five,” says Dov, a rope-bondage expert who is probably best known for his rope corsets. “The first thing I ever tied up was a toilet seat.”

It took Dov years to put a name to what seemed second nature to him as a child and to realize that to the rest of the world, rope bondage might be considered pornographic or deviant. Dov calls this realization the mirror stage—when, in a Times Square video booth watching a B&D Pleasures video of a woman getting her breasts tied up, Dov suddenly understood that he’d been practicing the “erotic art of rope bondage” with his girlfriends for years.

MorTis, known within the Chicago BDSM as the “rope guy” and organizer of the annual rope bondage conference, Shibaricon, started copying the ties and wraps he saw in photographs. He built trust with women he met at local clubs so he could practice his new skills with them, and before long would tie up as many as 40 women a night. He had been bored by much of the porn he saw on the Internet, but as an artist the beauty and eroticism of shibari turned him on.

Part of what makes shibari erotic as well as aesthetically pleasing is that the touch of the rope is so sensual. Says Dov, “Rope is tactile: the smell, flavor, feel and color evokes a range of responses in people.”

Choosing the right rope is part of the fun, and it all depends on how long a rope you want to work with, how thick and from what material. Thinner rope tends to be easier to tie than thick rope. Natural ropes have a wonderful smell but can sometimes irritate sensitive skin. These are just some of the factors to consider. For a more complete guide to different types of ropes see RainbowRope.com.

While shibari can be erotic, tying someone up doesn’t mean sexual intercourse is necessarily part of the experience. “I’ll tie up almost anyone,” says MorTis. “But, only if we really connect will we then have sex.”

Dov agrees that one doesn’t have to have sex for shibari to be sexy and fun. “I can tie someone up and torture them a little, create tension through our energy … Sometimes, I feel in the same physical and mental space after tying someone up, as if we had sex.”

New York professional domme Laidie Magenta always keeps sex out of her job. This is what makes the tension of the rope so excruciating. In her words: “I like to get my clients hard within five minutes and keep them that way.”

As a pro domme, Laidie Magenta combines the power play of dominance and submission in her utilization of rope. “S/M brings in drama, layers of tension and release that aren’t involved in other kinds of sex.”

Practicing shibari, however, does not necessitate an S/M relationship, role playing or scenario. While there is always the “top,” the person doing the tying, and the “bottom,” the person being tied, there is not necessarily always the “dom,” the person in the mental headspace of dominance or a “sub,” the person in the mental headspace of being a submissive. In some cases, one or both persons “switch” between top and bottom, sub or dom. Much of the pleasure of Japanese rope bondage can also be derived from collaborating as lovers or friends.

“The problem happens when assumptions are made about tops and bottoms and what is what,” says Midori. “Active questions and listening skills are important. Make-believe is fine until you start lying about yourself.”

“Rope bondage is erotic because it has the ability to transform,” says Dov. “It’s an amazing tool, and depending on your mood, can be all about fun or sitting in place while other things happen. It can be meditative, calm or mean as hell ... It can be violent or quiet, depending on your perspective. It can also be very collaborative.”

Rope bondage is different for everyone and within every context. Some “tops” are sadists, and enjoy inflicting “pain” or “intense sensations.” Others are interested in fun and collaboration. As Dov explains, “Some bottoms go into a meditative zone and can even fall asleep. Others go into kicking and screaming. Still others are ‘escape artists’ and are more calculating about how they try to get out.” The loss of control and fear of being bound or tortured can be part of the eroticism.

The aspect of shibari that everyone could agree upon is that no matter how one chooses to practice rope bondage, the key is to keep all play safe and consensual.

At a workshop on Eastern-Inspired Rope Bondage organized by Black Rose, a Washington, DC based BDSM organization, expert Bridgett Harrington made sure to cover the importance of safety. Safety is also one of six main workshop tracks at the Shibaricon rope bondage conference in Chicago.

For anyone trying rope bondage for the first time, safety shears should be on hand just in case the rope needs to be cut. The person bound should be monitored to make sure their circulatory, respiratory and nervous systems are functioning normally. Their hands should be squeezed occasionally to make sure enough blood is getting to the hands in order to squeeze back. If it looks like a person needs to be taken out, cutting the rope might not always be the best option. Staying calm and untying the rope will best keep anxiety from heightening.

Perhaps one of the most common misconceptions about bondage play is that it is “violent.” But, the shibari experts gave a very different response.

“It is absolutely not about violence,” says Laidie Magenta. “BDSM is safe, sane and consensual play … Role play is a realm that may involve previously agreed upon 'violence' as part of a specific fantasy or scene, but role play is acting out a specific role outside of the player's everyday reality and it's under the umbrella of the safe, sane and consensual play.”

Midori believes that terms like “violence” and “pain” are too difficult to define to be used as labels for shibari. “Is it pain or is it intense sensations?” she asks. “A lot of people don’t relate to pain when it’s also pleasurable. Is that violence? Is there an element of power and struggle? It’s all along a spectrum. For some people, the rope is a nice cocooning embrace, the rope being an extension of the lovers arm. It can be extremely soft and nurturing ... Bondage reflects fantasy; it is just a tool. Rope means nothing. Like a kiss, the intent means everything.”

Whether intended for erotic play, art or just for fun—with a few basic ties—a rope bondage beginner can put their partner into a wide variety of beautiful poses. For example, tying the wrists together and then attaching that tie to one ankle or creating a chest harness that leaves the breasts looking like “pearls.” The most elaborate positions and suspensions used by professionals can be photographed and called simply, art. Or, just a few simple ties can be used for a fun and dirty scene in the bedroom.

Have fun. :rose:

Wonderful and a great read! Thank you for this Rebecca. :rose:
 
Interesting

Not sure what to make of it but something very fun happened tonight.

Was in watching an old Judy Garland movie with the Mrs and was practicing on a new hand-wrist cuff tie as I was sitting next to her. After it was in place she reached over and took my hand and was looking at it and then started holding my hand that was tied and asked if I would tie our hands together. So I did. Nothing fancy, just left my hand tied like it was and then wrapped our hands and wrists together coiling the rope over and over till I used it all up.

She gave me a bit of a purr and said this was the kind of knots she liked. I asked her what she meant and she said the kind that ties me to you. We watched most of the movie like that.

Maybe not your photoshoot type rope scene chuckles, but it was special in that it was my flesh and her flesh tied together as one. Something that would never have happened over a month ago. Though a small step, it was in someways a big one.

I was there just doing "my thing" and she found a small way to be part of it.

*check the compass and sees its a good course and continues ahead slow but sure.
 
RJMasters said:
Not sure what to make of it but something very fun happened tonight.

Was in watching an old Judy Garland movie with the Mrs and was practicing on a new hand-wrist cuff tie as I was sitting next to her. After it was in place she reached over and took my hand and was looking at it and then started holding my hand that was tied and asked if I would tie our hands together. So I did. Nothing fancy, just left my hand tied like it was and then wrapped our hands and wrists together coiling the rope over and over till I used it all up.

She gave me a bit of a purr and said this was the kind of knots she liked. I asked her what she meant and she said the kind that ties me to you. We watched most of the movie like that.

Maybe not your photoshoot type rope scene chuckles, but it was special in that it was my flesh and her flesh tied together as one. Something that would never have happened over a month ago. Though a small step, it was in someways a big one.

I was there just doing "my thing" and she found a small way to be part of it.

*check the compass and sees its a good course and continues ahead slow but sure.
:p told ya :rolleyes:
 
smiles and bits...........

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c224/rebecca000/Geijutsu_shincho_1995-04_ito_seiu.jpg
Ito Seiyu or Seiu Ito (1882-1961) is arguably the most important figure in the history of Japanese bondage (shibari) and SM. Born during the last days of the Meiji Restoration, Ito, a painter, wood block print master, photographer and writer, provides the link between the ancient and the modern in Japan's fascination with sadomasochistic practices. As an artist he was extraordinary. As an inspiration to generations of Japan's greatest shibari masters he was unique.

Ito was apparently born with a sadomasochistic streak and, according to his own writings, could remember being fascinated at the age of 10 by Japanese folk tales of captive princesses told to him by his mother. At 18 he decided to become a semega (or torment scene) painter and never wavered from that path for the rest of his life. Inspired by such Ukiyo-e (wood block print) masters as Yoshitoshi and Kunisada, both of whom dabbled in semega type subjects, Ito became a semega master of tremendous imagination, variety and skill.

It was during the Taisho period (1912-1926) that the artist began taking photographs, a novel hobby in early 20th century Japan. In 1919 he created his most famous work, Maidens Suffering in the Snow. He was almost forty. Apparently, he was inspired by the folk tale Chujo Hime as well as by an early textbook on torture techniques entitled Semekata Kokore-gaki. Using his camera to record his work he copied various examples of ebizeme (binding with rope) and tsurizeme (suspension with rope) and took many photographs of his bound model in a winter landscape. His use of his own shibari photographs as studies for his paintings and sketches became his standard technique. Most notoriously, he once copied Yoshitoshi's famous and disturbing Ukiyo-e masterpiece, The Lonely House on Adachi Moor with it's startling depiction of a bound and suspended pregnant girl, using his own pregnant wife as his model! So famous had Ito become by this time that the June 1924 issue of Sunday Mainichi magazine, a very "normal" publication, featured a visit to his studio!

Ito was not always held in such high regard. After a lifetime of work he confessed to Amatoria magazine in 1950 that, "The only recognition I ever received, as a person who has studied bondage since 1908, was the pervert tag." Today Ito's perversion would be considered a respected "mania" and he is largely to be credited for this change. Because of his artistry, by the mid 20th century, he had begun to influence a whole new generation of shibari masters, editors, and graphic artists, all talented people interested in the erotic and artistic power of shibari and SM. Figures such as the brilliant painter and editor Kita Reiko (aka Minomura Akira), the legendary shibari master Nureki Chimuo and such later day figures as shibari masters Osada Eikichi, Chiba Eizoh and master photographer Akio Fuji all credit his profound influence on their work. In his own right, Ito's paintings, sketches and photographic studies continue to be published and as late as 1982 a beautiful book on the history of crime and punishment in Edo-era Japan was published using only illustrations by Ito Seiyu.

Ito's strength as an artist came from his great visual skill and taste and determination to capture what he called "Beauty in Suffering," that is those emotions of real desire and real drama caught on the razor's edge between pain and pleasure during the experience of sadomasochism. Like his great western contemporary, John Willie(click me #2084) (John Alexander Scott Couts, 1902-1962) he brought artistic genius and a love of women to his passion and in our own age when so much Internet "bondage" and especially "torture" imagery is only misogynist pornography masquerading as fetish art, his delicate and sensitive studies of beautiful maidens "suffering" with pleasure and desire still have the power to impress and inspire.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c224/rebecca000/08.jpg

One of my 'files' uncertain if this is by Ito though it does match the descriptive 'Maidens Suffering in the Snow'.....there are many of these.......fairly certain Angelic has several in his Art Threads as well if I recall correctly. Awwww look at the Demon crawling over her hip. This is a wonderful piece huh.​

PS I have been wandering around online puzzled why I have been unable to get more information on this Artist with exception of a site that requires a very expensive membership. Seems the spelling of his name has been altered from Seiu Ito. Actually found a wiki link trying to learn more about semega . Derived from Kabuki Theatre as I am learning........
Wonder what I will turn up next......

Wiki Link
 
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RJMasters said:
Not sure what to make of it but something very fun happened tonight.

Was in watching an old Judy Garland movie with the Mrs and was practicing on a new hand-wrist cuff tie as I was sitting next to her. After it was in place she reached over and took my hand and was looking at it and then started holding my hand that was tied and asked if I would tie our hands together. So I did. Nothing fancy, just left my hand tied like it was and then wrapped our hands and wrists together coiling the rope over and over till I used it all up.

She gave me a bit of a purr and said this was the kind of knots she liked. I asked her what she meant and she said the kind that ties me to you. We watched most of the movie like that.

Maybe not your photoshoot type rope scene chuckles, but it was special in that it was my flesh and her flesh tied together as one. Something that would never have happened over a month ago. Though a small step, it was in someways a big one.

I was there just doing "my thing" and she found a small way to be part of it.

*check the compass and sees its a good course and continues ahead slow but sure.
Wow, RJ. I'd say that you are well on your way with her. I'm glad that things are moving in a positive direction with this for you. Sounds like she is very interested in what interests you and that is a very positive thing. Yea!!
 
@}-}rebecca---- said:
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c224/rebecca000/Geijutsu_shincho_1995-04_ito_seiu.jpg
Ito Seiyu or Seiu Ito (1882-1961) is arguably the most important figure in the history of Japanese bondage (shibari) and SM. Born during the last days of the Meiji Restoration, Ito, a painter, wood block print master, photographer and writer, provides the link between the ancient and the modern in Japan's fascination with sadomasochistic practices. As an artist he was extraordinary. As an inspiration to generations of Japan's greatest shibari masters he was unique.

Ito was apparently born with a sadomasochistic streak and, according to his own writings, could remember being fascinated at the age of 10 by Japanese folk tales of captive princesses told to him by his mother. At 18 he decided to become a semega (or torment scene) painter and never wavered from that path for the rest of his life. Inspired by such Ukiyo-e (wood block print) masters as Yoshitoshi and Kunisada, both of whom dabbled in semega type subjects, Ito became a semega master of tremendous imagination, variety and skill.

It was during the Taisho period (1912-1926) that the artist began taking photographs, a novel hobby in early 20th century Japan. In 1919 he created his most famous work, Maidens Suffering in the Snow. He was almost forty. Apparently, he was inspired by the folk tale Chujo Hime as well as by an early textbook on torture techniques entitled Semekata Kokore-gaki. Using his camera to record his work he copied various examples of ebizeme (binding with rope) and tsurizeme (suspension with rope) and took many photographs of his bound model in a winter landscape. His use of his own shibari photographs as studies for his paintings and sketches became his standard technique. Most notoriously, he once copied Yoshitoshi's famous and disturbing Ukiyo-e masterpiece, The Lonely House on Adachi Moor with it's startling depiction of a bound and suspended pregnant girl, using his own pregnant wife as his model! So famous had Ito become by this time that the June 1924 issue of Sunday Mainichi magazine, a very "normal" publication, featured a visit to his studio!

Ito was not always held in such high regard. After a lifetime of work he confessed to Amatoria magazine in 1950 that, "The only recognition I ever received, as a person who has studied bondage since 1908, was the pervert tag." Today Ito's perversion would be considered a respected "mania" and he is largely to be credited for this change. Because of his artistry, by the mid 20th century, he had begun to influence a whole new generation of shibari masters, editors, and graphic artists, all talented people interested in the erotic and artistic power of shibari and SM. Figures such as the brilliant painter and editor Kita Reiko (aka Minomura Akira), the legendary shibari master Nureki Chimuo and such later day figures as shibari masters Osada Eikichi, Chiba Eizoh and master photographer Akio Fuji all credit his profound influence on their work. In his own right, Ito's paintings, sketches and photographic studies continue to be published and as late as 1982 a beautiful book on the history of crime and punishment in Edo-era Japan was published using only illustrations by Ito Seiyu.

Ito's strength as an artist came from his great visual skill and taste and determination to capture what he called "Beauty in Suffering," that is those emotions of real desire and real drama caught on the razor's edge between pain and pleasure during the experience of sadomasochism. Like his great western contemporary, John Willie(click me #2084) (John Alexander Scott Couts, 1902-1962) he brought artistic genius and a love of women to his passion and in our own age when so much Internet "bondage" and especially "torture" imagery is only misogynist pornography masquerading as fetish art, his delicate and sensitive studies of beautiful maidens "suffering" with pleasure and desire still have the power to impress and inspire.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c224/rebecca000/08.jpg

One of my 'files' uncertain if this is by Ito though it does match the descriptive 'Maidens Suffering in the Snow'.....there are many of these.......fairly certain Angelic has several in his Art Threads as well if I recall correctly. Awwww look at the Demon crawling over her hip. This is a wonderful piece huh.​

PS I have been wandering around online puzzled why I have been unable to get more information on this Artist with exception of a site that requires a very expensive membership. Seems the spelling of his name has been altered from Seiu Ito. Actually found a wiki link trying to learn more about semega . Derived from Kabuki Theatre as I am learning........
Wonder what I will turn up next......

Wiki Link


Thank you Rebecca for this. I find this very fascinating and enjoy learning more. I always enjoyed these pics that AA posted and they were the ones that really got me hooked on those threads in the beginning.

Thank you for taking the time to put this together for me. :rose:
 
BeachGurl2 said:
Wow, RJ. I'd say that you are well on your way with her. I'm glad that things are moving in a positive direction with this for you. Sounds like she is very interested in what interests you and that is a very positive thing. Yea!!

Thanks BeachGurl. :rose:

I one sense I have learned a very valuable thing...in that some will follow if one leads, but they will not budge if you push.

That is an interesting thought to contemplate and accomendate in my thinking.
 
See my cat-dog analogy of human pet ownership. I have a partner who responds almost solely to positive strokes

as in "hey it'll be really really FUN if we do this to your dick, wanna try?"

versus "hahaha now you will submit to my torments, bitch!"
 
Netzach said:
See my cat-dog analogy of human pet ownership. I have a partner who responds almost solely to positive strokes

as in "hey it'll be really really FUN if we do this to your dick, wanna try?"

versus "hahaha now you will submit to my torments, bitch!"

I can understand this,

Don't think I ever came close to ever using the second line.

What or how do you respond if the answer to the first is no?
 
RJMasters said:
I can understand this,

Don't think I ever came close to ever using the second line.

What or how do you respond if the answer to the first is no?

Well you have two choices, actually three.

Whine stomp your feet and pout. And try later.

Try later.

Get forceful and your cat will hate you and pee on your carpet.
 
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