Opinion

A lesson from Yukimura sensei Not long before Yukimura sensei passed away I was lucky to be able to spend some time with him in...

No matter where you live today, the rapidly growing information sharing streams have helped our communities discover, grow and evolve. Whereas just two decades ago...

How I learned to stop worrying and love the takate kote

Surely kinbaku is getting more and more attention recently. It is getting little bit mainstream and popular, with shows, art galleries and even couple...

“Did you hear that so-and-so injured someone last week?” “I won’t tie with that person. I heard they’re a rapist.” “So I heard that so-and-so got...

I started tying in 2006 or 2007. I can't really remember, exactly. But what I do remember was that when I started...

Sometimes the impetus for reflection comes from the most unlikely places.  A few years ago, I bought a woodblock print by Toshikata titled "Yamanouchi Kazutoyo's...

Exploring the heart of kinbaku

Last week, I made the mistake of logging onto Fetlife and reading some rope posts. I really should know better. I came across a...

For the past decade, I have been warning people of the problems and limitations of focusing kinbaku so intensely on technique, without thinking about the heart of it. The focus has been, almost exclusively, on the how to tie, rather than the why we tie. And by why, I don't mean "why we use a munter hutch here, rather than there." I mean motivation. I mean passion. I mean desire. I mean fantasy. I mean heart.

I have been thinking a lot about the relationship between rope and words, particularly in relation to the practice of tying. I was struck by...

Longing to be bound to the bedpost blindfolded? Or maybe being tied naked to a tree is more your cup of tea. If visions...