Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely Adequate but not more than that
Review:
The Seductive Art of Japanese Bondage is the most adequate book on the subject on the subject that I have seen to date, but it is not more than that. This is both good and bad. For a soft-cover book that lists for over $20, you want more and yet, Midori's book doesn't make you feel cheated because it doesn't cheat you. IMHO, it is correctly valued at its list price: it is exactly what it claims to be and at Amazon's prices, it is an exceptional value for what it is.
Now, what do I mean by that?
Midori covers everything you would expect an expert in her field to address including safety, history, materials, and tips before she goes on to deal with the actual positions, or 'ties'--each of which is preceded by a block of prose describing the feelings that Japanese bondage is to evoke in a hypothetical participant--and it is here that the book delivers what it's meant to.
Using nicely-shot color photorgraphs, very clear, line-drawing illustrations and thoroughly thought-out instructions, Midori goes step-by-step through some of the best-known (and most frequently seen) positions in Japanese bondage and their variants; including the, tortoiseshell harness, the ubiquitous Japanese Box-tie (or 'Ushirote Munenawa' in the book,) and a number of other positions that following the book's instructions will make it safe and easy to apply to your partner.
It delivers exactly what it promises to the people for whom it's intended, but it leaves me with the feeling that it would be good if it had more. Its handling of the subject would be improved if it went further; if there was an addendum or a companion volume that offered the reader something that went beyond the basics. As things stand, you could comfortably retitle the book, 'how to apply that bondage you've seen so often on the internet,' and to that end, The Seductive Art of Japanese Bondage is a perfect book, but if you've been around for a while, it leaves you wanting more--perhaps a second volume or a more comprehensive first one.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Read for Novices & Beautiful Coffee Table Book!
Review: I must say it's a true work of art - Great reading for novices like my self. I've already recommended it to 3 other people that are curious about rope bondage. Great reference book with beautiful pictures, safety precautions, a bit of folkloric history, great advice, hot little seduction story and best of all, the quality that only good writers have "she keeps you sucked into the book the entire time". Midori is truly on her way to become one of the top educators of our century!
-Mel
Rating: 
Summary: Nice instruction book, would have been better in hardcover
Review: A step-by-step instruction in the techniques of Japanese restraint. Good illustrations and instructions. Not many full-color pictures, as this is more of a manual than an art book.My biggest let-down was the fact that it's a softcover, which doesn't allow for laying the book down to practice without risking spine damage to the book. I would have really liked to have this in the more rugged hardcover, or even spiral-bound, format.
Rating:
Summary: REVIEW OF MIDORI'S THE SEDUCTIVE ART OF JAPANESE BONDAGE
Review: After the long wait to receive a copy of this book there was a very real fear that it would be a disappointment. After all, Midori may be the "fetish diva" and a "goddess" popular on a nation-wide circuit of demos and workshops with various bdsm orgs, but she's best known as a "queen" of self-promo: she tends to be her own best friend. So it's almost a shock to review her book and declare it wonderful. The introduction is sound without being laborious, the how-to diagrams clear and easy to follow, and the photographs tasteful and inviting.
Midori starts off with a "folkloric" history of the rope in Japan and continues with an analysis of a bondage scene from the perspectives of bottom and top. Chapter II instructs the reader on rope selection and maintenance, and addresses important safety concerns regarding one's roped partner. And it's in Chapter III that Midori diagrams the use of rope for breast, leg and torso restraint, together with a short depiction of the use of the bamboo stretcher and the more common hog-tie. All in all a great introduction to erotic bondage.
It would perhaps have been better if Midori had chosen to lengthen the book. Maybe a bit more on variants in technique, or a more graphic exploration of the mix of rope and suspension. Perhaps she's already envisoning a sequel? If there is another effort it would be nice if she went beyond the scope of the present work and included a contrast/comparison with western bondage à la John Willie, et.al.
If the book has a real fault it's in the bibilography. Credit should be given the many other texts and personalities on both sides of the Pacific who have embraced the sensuality of Japanese bondage (RIP Tammad Rimilia), and to those schools (notably the Baltimore and the Seattle) that appreciate the art and offer instruction to, and workshops for, those with a yearn to learn. With Midori's cosmopolitan background I personally wish she had offered other suggested readings from the Orient, along the lines of the hojo-jutsu texts by Mizukoshi Hiro or Fujita Seiko, for those who wish to delve deeper into sophisticated bondage.
A special hats-off to photographer Craig Morey, whose work helped transform this book from an instruction manual into a genuinely tasteful coffee table addition.
KIHARA
Rating:
Summary: Endless Hours of Fun
Review: Great book for those willing to make the effort to explore. It's nicely produced with good pictures. Wish there were more! You can recreate some of the art in your own home if you follow along carefully.
Rating:
Summary: Shibari at a glance
Review: I found this to be an excelent book. Midori did a fine job authoring this work, but what else would one expect from Fetish Diva Midori? The illustrations are great and none of the typical knarley looking knots seen in other books. Every Boy Scout should take a lesson from Midori and Craig Morey.
*****Hats off to Midori and Morey
Rating: 
Summary: Do not buy this for the pictures!
Review: If you are interested in this book mainly for great photographs of women in bondage pass this one by. The cover photo is a nice shot by the photographer Craig Morey but it will surely be a let down if you expect more of the same inside. There are only eight photographs in this book. Four of the eight are of men in bondage. The remaining four are of women. To make matters worse one of the four images featuring a woman is a duplicate of the cover image so there are only three additional photos of women. Also the only attractive woman of the four is the one they selected for the cover. If you are interested in techniques this might be the book for you but go elsewhere for sexy images.
Rating:
Summary: Easy Instructions, Great Pictures.
Review: If you're interested in tying someone up and have no idea how to go about it, this book is perfect. Very clear illustrations show step by step how to go about it. Plus there are some great bondage photos too.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Work
Review: Imagine..a "coffee table" type book about Japanese rope bondage, complete with instructions and diagrams and some absolutely gorgeous photographs produced by Craig Morey (a photographer who has created some luscious bondage photos over the past few years). Fetish Diva Midori who has been involved in the San Francisco Bay Area SM scene for years now has created an excellent book about this form of bondage, which can be beautiful and alluring to look at, but for some like me, a daunting task to do well. Midori must have had people like me in mind, because she describes specific types of this kind of rope bondage, offering step by step instruction and diagrams, along with pictures of the "finished product." The book also offers information about the history of Japanese rope bondage, the different types of rope available, safety, and then discusses seven specific rope bondage "techniques." Among them: simple breast bondage, arm & chest bondage, the beautiful "Tortoise Shell Body Harness," and the "Bamboo Rod." If you're any kind of "bondage aficionado," be it practioner or simply a "conoisseur," this book is excellent, as well as being a kind of "instruction manual" on Japanese rope bondage.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Work
Review: Imagine..a "coffee table" type book about Japanese rope bondage, complete with instructions and diagrams and some absolutely gorgeous photographs produced by Craig Morey (a photographer who has created some luscious bondage photos over the past few years). Fetish Diva Midori who has been involved in the San Francisco Bay Area SM scene for years now has created an excellent book about this form of bondage, which can be beautiful and alluring to look at, but for some like me, a daunting task to do well. Midori must have had people like me in mind, because she describes specific types of this kind of rope bondage, offering step by step instruction and diagrams, along with pictures of the "finished product." The book also offers information about the history of Japanese rope bondage, the different types of rope available, safety, and then discusses seven specific rope bondage "techniques." Among them: simple breast bondage, arm & chest bondage, the beautiful "Tortoise Shell Body Harness," and the "Bamboo Rod." If you're any kind of "bondage aficionado," be it practioner or simply a "conoisseur," this book is excellent, as well as being a kind of "instruction manual" on Japanese rope bondage.
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