Roughly translated, A professional of Erotic Bondage. I’ve included the Hiragana writing for my own study purposes.

Japanese is a very interesting language, as there is no fixed way to say a great many things. Instead, the Japanese use descriptions to convey meaning. To complicate this, in some cases you will find old words being used (that have been replaced in modern usage), or words that have a bit of local flavor (like idioms and accents in English). Takate kote shibari (たかてこてしばり) is one such term, where gote shibari (ごてしばり) or just gote (ごて) is a more simplified modern usage in context.

The suffix, shi (し), is an honorific (like Mr. or Ms.), often used to mean “master of”, but mostly a professional you know by reputation, not in person. It’s more formal than the commonly used, san (さん). You wouldn’t call yourself a “shi”, but in formal speech it might be used like a pronoun after the person has been introduced.

The suffix, sensei (せんせい or 先生), is also an honorific, meaning “teacher”. As with “shi”, you wouldn’t call yourself a “sensei”, and it might be used like a pronoun. Learning is a fairly formal environment in Japanese Culture.

When in Tokyo, I asked Naka Akira sensei (奈加あきら先生) how I should address him. Of course, I didn’t get a straight answer, because culturally you don’t have the hubris to tell somebody to call you “sir”, especially if you don’t know them well. Naka San was very tolerant of my ignorant rudeness.

Midori talks about Japanese culture as having a “hive mind”, an interesting notion that somewhat explains how being “special” is not necessarily considered a positive thing in polite, public Japanese society. Respect is granted by the community over time, not taken as an individual.

So for Naka san, I had to ask the question differently, to say – when advertising your services, what do you call yourself? Kinbakushi was the answer, a person who does erotic bondage in a professional context, and is understood to be an expert.

On an interesting sidebar, Naka san had harsh words for people who called themselves kinbakushi, but who were actually amateurs, or not experienced enough to be recognized as experts. He was very proud to refer to himself as “professional”.

I didn’t intend to write this as a treatise on the Japanese language. I wanted to explain that for practical purposes I regard myself as a kinbakushi. However, I do not see myself on the level of all those I refer to as sensei, and in no way mean to equate my skills to the grand masters I revere.

I will advertise myself as a kinbakushi, but I will not refer to myself in that manner in person for the sake of humility.