The Stranger - Feb 16, 2006
...we really have to talk about this kimono thing....
...in the last few years, complex rope bondage has become hip in the American BDSM world. Such ropework is popular and prevalent in Japanese porn, and the American bondage scene has definitely been inspired and influenced by Japanese images.
That's all good so far. But the unfortunate side effect is the influx of what I call "the kimono boys." They're American white guys who call themselves "authentic Japanese rope masters." (Interestingly, I've never met a woman who made this claim.) These rope masters say they have studied "the traditional Japanese way of the rope"----although most of them have never actually visited Japan. But their conversation is strewn with Japanese words, and they often give themselves the title "Nawashi," which they say means "rope bondage artist." And, yeah, they often show up at fetish events wearing kimonos...very much like a polyester bathrobe I saw on sale at Pier 1...more...
