Finnish shibari / kinbaku artist, performer and teacher, also credited as Saara Kantanen / Saara-Tsuru / Shibaritsuru. Kakumei Kan identifies Saara Kantanen (Saara-Tsuru) and Jarno Kantanen as instructors and co-owners of the Helsinki kinbaku studio. BookRetreats and Shibari Haven describe Saara Tsuru as a Finland-based artist, performer, practitioner and teacher who works professionally with shibari, teaches workshops, offers private sessions and performs in Finland and abroad. Her teaching prioritizes emotional connection over complex patterns, with Naka-influenced semenawa, dynamic play, ritual elements, fundamentals, safe suspension technique and model agency.
An interactive genealogy of bakushi and kinbaku —
the Japanese rope traditions that grew from Edo-period hojōjutsu
through twentieth-century SM magazines into today's global
shibari scene.
People
343
Entities
269
Connections
1546
Eras
9
Each record is sourced from public material — Nawapedia,
ShibariStudy, festival rosters, interviews, archived studio
pages — and curated by a single researcher.
Beta — structure and interface are public;
data is still being expanded and corrected.
How to read it
Vertical position is time: the 1800s at the
top, the 2020s at the bottom. Cards are coloured by
school or lineage; lines between them carry
the relationship type:
deshi — direct apprenticeship
influence — peer study, mentorship
thinner colours — venue, magazine, production
card colour = school / lineage
Click a card to open its bio, antecedents and descendants.
Filters in the top bar narrow by era, entity type, or
relationship.
Caveats
Inclusion is selective: a person or studio appears only when
there's enough public evidence to anchor them meaningfully.
Missing birth years are deliberate — many practitioners don't
publicise them. Errors and gaps will exist; corrections
welcome at pussynawa@proton.me.