Marc (akuaku) has been living in Japan for sixteen years. In 2006, he ventured into the underground world and encountered traditional Japanese bondage, and from 2010, he began studying under Hajime Kinoko, one of the the most prolific Japanese rope artists. Marc graduated to become a rope instructor in 2012 and has been practicing, teaching, performing, and helping Kinoko in various projects ever since.

Fox and Mya met Marc last year when he and some other Japanese rope visitors came to our Thai BDSM community. When, at the end of 2020, he launched a kickstarter along with two friends for ‘The Japanese Rope Kama Sutra’ we were excited - and impressed when it was funded at three times its goal.

We thought he’d be a great person to talk to about how rope and sex interact, and to hear more about his book.

Our discussion covers:

◦ How Marc went from visiting Kinoko’s bar, to being an instructor with him

◦ Insights into the Japanese rope scene

◦ Cultural and practical differences between rope in Japan and rope in other places

◦ How communication can differ in English versus Japanese and the implications for rope

◦ Some of the many ways Marc feels rope can enhance sex

◦ How the book came about, and background to the design and content choices

◦ Marc’s view of the three elements that rope can be

◦ How they came up with the lovely names (and the surprising link to Sumo!)

◦ How to use the book

◦ Marc’s favourite position from the book

PS from Mya - this is a TWO FRENCH ACCENT episode, so given all the feedback we get about how much people love Fox’s accent, get ready for some aural pleasure <3