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"Men are actually cute little
things, aren't they?"Fukuoka SM club Joosama
Down At Heel
In Fukuoka
By 'Ghoti'
Kyushu has traditionally been a bastion of
machismo in Japan. It's supposed to be here that men are men and the women the accommodating
Hakata-ko beauties of Japanese lore. Perhaps the sometimes outlandish appearance
of college students on Oyafuko street recently has hinted that things are not entirely
as they were, but otherwise they seem to have changed little over the past ten years.
Well, they have..
Sado-masochism, or SM clubs, once to be found
only in the more exotic nightspots of Tokyo, have taken Fukuoka by silent storm.
Unmarked and unknown even to next door neighbors, these clubs have built up clientele
of thousands of
"It made sadomasochism
seem as natural as a trip to a health spa"
well-to-do professional men, and a few women. Though they advertise
openly, a prospective customer must first go through an elaborate intrigue to finally
arrive at the club door. But as well kept as these secrets are, they are nonetheless
secrets - held by many respected members of local society.
On an introduction from a friend well acquainted
with this bit of subculture, I visited two clubs for a chat.
My first stop, Secret Club, was in a
large, nondescript office/warehouse building in an equally nondescript area south
of Hakata Station. There was nothing on the door to indicate that we were entering
an office any different from the dozen others on the same floor. Once inside, we
waited for a second door to be opened. The genkan was not unusual, except
that the Venus de Milo copy was draped with a simple chain. We were welcomed in by
the mama-san, Mai, an elegant looking woman wearing a long enticing dress. To say
the place is well-appointed would be to flog understatement. I had expected to walk
into a dingy, vaguely sleazy atmosphere, but this place is as professionally done
as Disneyland. It made sadomasochism seem as natural as a trip to a health spa -
with 5 uniquely designed rooms, each larger than my 2k apartment. There are two tastefully
furnished (if you ignore the bondage gear) Victorian style rooms, one red velvet
and black leather room, a 'nurse play room,' and a very intimidating 'hard
course' room. The owner, an affable Kyushu man, proudly pointed out the careful
attention to detail. Even the toilets are especially designed to enhance both health
and humiliation. In fact the entire bathroom has only floor to ceiling glass around
it, so the prey never leaves the humbling eye of the dominatrix ('joosama'
in Japanese).
And it is a certain cold glimmer of the eyes
that one notices first in Rui-joosama, one of the more popular dominatrixes - sufficient
to make even Akebono's knees wobble. An otherwise delicately beautiful young woman,
as polite and reserved as any, she told me her first experience with SM came when
she was 15, and her boyfriend tied her up. It wasn't too long before she realized
that her place was on the other end of the whip, and she now says it's an essential
part of her personality to be dominant. Her mother knows what she is doing. When
she inadvertently calls her during working hours and Rui tells her she's in the middle
of a job, she signs off with an 'Oh, I'm so sorry! Keep up the good work!'
I asked her and Mai about the club members,
who number over 6,000 (six thousand - or 0.5% of Fukuoka's population). They are
primarily professionals, doctors, lawyers, and other successful men. Two thirds of
them are masochists, usually the bigger and more macho of the customers. Apparently,
the burliness just falls away from them as they walk through the club doors. A number
of couples come as well. Usually, the wife or girlfriend watches while her man gets
put through his paces - and receives helpful hints from the Joosama so she
can continue his treatment at home.
Problems include frequent calls from first time
customers cancelling because they have had a car accident on the way to the club,
usually because they can't keep their mind on the traffic. Another is that whips
disappear with all the frequency of umbrellas on a rainy day. The owner is not too
distressed by this, as he figures the men must have had a pretty good time to want
a souvenir that badly.
It was emphasized that there was absolutely
no sex on these premises. Mai also spoke of SM as an art. She took her time to understand
each members needs before getting started, and said that if someone was only interested
in getting whipped, they would do as well at a cheaper place. They are very professional,
and proud of what they were doing. As we left, the owner showed me the storage room,
with racks and shelves of neatly arrayed paraphenalia, phalluses, enema bags, speculums,
and other gear I was unable to identify. He mentioned that it resembled a hospital
storage room. I nodded at the varieties of lingerie and asked hopefully whether all
nurses wore that in Japan..
As our tour of the Secret Club went on longer
than expected,we weren't able to get to the second club, Cleopatra, until
late at night. Cleopatra, in Nakasu, is somewhat smaller and homier than Secret Club.
It, however, has the love of a good number of SM afficionados in Fukuoka. It's just
a tad cheaper (a little under 30,000 yen for masochists, more for sadists) as well.
They are a friendly group, at least when they are not working. At Cleopatra, as well
as Secret Club, they expressed some disappointment that they never saw any foreign
customers. I suggested that, language, price, and cultural differences would play
a part. They agreed only with the first postulation, arguing that 30,000 yen (300
US dollars) is not at all pricey, and being completely baffled as to why big, outgoing
foreigners might be too shy to try.. At Cleopatra, we talked to Tsubaki-joosama,
a very shapely punkish young lady. She told me that her interest in bondage came
in junior high school, after watching Madonna. Looking at what came out of Madonna1s
influence, I guess I have to agree with the Christian Coalition that she is an influence
on the morals of youth after all.. (Bless her bustiered heart!) Originally, Tsubaki's
interest was strictly bondage fashion, though she eventually found that the practice
greatly suited her personality - so much that none of her friends are surprised at
her choice of career.
I had asked about some of the stranger experiences
they have had, an incongruous question I quickly realized. But strangeness is relative.
One told me of customer who would routinely pay a visit to an amusement arcade in
Nakasu, and play UFO Catcher until he won a pair of knickers which he would proudly
present to his joosama. Another had a man break down and call her 'mommy'. an act
which apparently infuriated her, with results that I shudder to consider..
The last stop was one that is easily available
to all. As of the middle of September, "Candy Hole" - a bondage
pub, opened off Oyafuko street. The hostesses and performers are associated with
SM clubs in town. On what used to be a disco floor is a complex set of chains and
shackles hanging from the ceiling. The show, done by two women, occasionally becomes
very intense, according to Candy-joosama, one of the premier dominatrixes
in Fukuoka.
She complained about the problems she was having
with her full-time slaves. 'There always come a point when they actually want to
go out to dinner with me, or go to a bar with me like a regular person. I have to
sit them down and ask them, are you my slave, or not?' Aside from the problem of
getting good help, she relishes her life and has some stunning tattoos to boot.
"Candy
Hole" has a table charge of 3,500 yen, drinks are 1000 yen, and tips may
go another couple of thousand. That said, there is nowhere else like it in Kyushu.
The atmosphere is usually unthreatening and occasionally comedic. Masochistic audience
participation is encouraged but not compulsory. For info, call 092 711-9510 (Nihongo
only)
In addition to the hard course and nurse play,
other scenarios on the local scene include infantile play, where the man is
quite literally babied by the joosama and 'roosoku' or hot wax play.
Lest you wonder why you haven't seen any of these Amazon women prowling the streets,
well, you probably have. Most undergo an amazing transformation when they leave the
club, and could just as easily be another lovely office lady, smiling shyly at you
over her English books..
(Ghoti first came to the city in search of the notorious Mr Oka - to ask
him what on earth he had done to arouse the ire of the rest of Japan ..)
Issue 46
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