“I am a chef”: Shibari artist Hajime Kinoko on his rope bondage style
Following our recent interview with kinbaku rope master Steve Osada, we were interested to read this interview with a very different kind of rope artist, Hajime Kinoko, in Tokyo Weekender last month.
Kinoko notes that he prefers shibari to kinbaku to describe his style of rope bondage, regarding the latter as about emotional exchange with a model during a session, and the former as more general.
Kinoko is known for his high-profile collaborations and more artistic style, which may involve tying a model to an object like a motorcycle.
“I am actually closer to an artisan, like a chef,” Kinoko says, “and my models and ropes are like ingredients. I match whatever works best for the desired art result.”
The red of the rope, Kinoko claims, is the color of connection, of DNA and ancestors.
“I use red rope to emphasize ‘connections” such as blood or fate, which is expressed in the Japanese language as ‘the red string of fate.'”
He has brought Japanese rope bondage out further into the mainstream with NFT releases and a controversial rope-themed installation in Harajuku, in which models were tied to the outside of a building.
He has been involved with shibari for more than two decades, taught by masters like Haruki Yukimura, Mistress Kanna, and Denki Akechi. He gained a lot of exposure in 2009 with a performance at Fuji Rock, one of the biggest music festivals in Japan. He frequently travels abroad for events and workshops. He then developed a “cyber shibari” style to blended rope bondage with dance music on the party and club scenes.
Kinoko’s current public installation uses blue rope to tie the outside of a cocoon-shaped building called the Natural Ellipse, a hotel located between Shinsen and Dogenzaka, Shibuya.
Read the rest of the interview on Tokyo Weekender.
