縛 Bakushi Map BETA loading

Steve Freeman

Steve Freeman is a Hong Kong-based nawashi in the Yagami-ryū.

Era: 2020s

NAWASHI · TEACHER

Hong Kong-based nawashi and the only official Yagami-ryu licensed instructor in Asia outside Japan. Previously studied under Haru Kakeru (Nuit de Tokyo), a certified Yukimura-ryu instructor. Known for an expressive, painterly style exploring intimacy and the human form. Performed alongside Hajime Kinoko at "The Shibari Connection: Love, Lust, and Beauty" showcase (Mondrian Hong Kong, 2024).

School: Yagami-ryū

Teachers / direct apprenticeship lineage: Ren Yagami.

Influences (mutual or directional): Nuitdetokyo.

Associated venues, magazines, films and performances: BoundCon Munich 2020s.

Bakushi Map BETA

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.

Methodology Sources

Thanks to RopeMarks, Asiana, RomKnots, Nick Freerider, Aleksei Kalatsky, Federico Kirigami, bluefeathers

Bakushi Map by Vsevolod Moreuton · · facts CC0 · text CC BY-SA · pussynawa@proton.me