I’m in Love with Midori

Wild Side Sex by Midori. Cover photo by Steve Diet Goedde.

by David Wraith

I’m not sure when I first became aware of Midori, but I’m sure it was some time in the mid to late 90s. Back then she was known as Fetish Diva Midori. I’m not sure when or why she dropped the “Fetish Diva.” Perhaps like P. Diddy’s “P”, she thought it was coming between her and her fans.

She probably came to my attention through the work of fetish photographer (and St. Louis expatriate) Steve Diet Goedde, with whom she had a very fruitful model/photographer relationship. Following her career over the years, it’s safe to say that if there was a bondage hall of fame, she’d be one of the first inductees.*

One of the foremost rope bondage artists in the world, I first saw Midori in person when she was the keynote speaker and a presenter at the first ever Shibaricon, Chicago’s annual Japanese rope bondage convention. Seeing her pictured in a black latex cat-suit and platform boots, crouched on top a concrete pillar overlooking San Francisco like an anime superhero, it’s easy to imagine Midori being 6’12’’, so when I met her, I was taken aback to see that she was several inches shorter than me. But what she lacks in height, she more than makes up in presence.

The Seductive Art of Japanese Rope Bondage by Midori. Cover photo by Craig Morey.

Quite simply, Midori is one of the best presenters I’ve ever seen on any topic, kink related or not. I would put her in a category with Henry Rollins and Jack Jezreel (yes, I just compared a bisexual, rope bondage artist with the leader of a Christian ministry. Welcome to the land of David Wraith).

To support my humble assertion that Midori is a national treasure who should be awarded the Congressional Medal of Hotness; I humbly submit to you the highlights from her CV that I can recall from memory:

In 1996 she posed nude for Playboy in their (somewhat unintentionally funny, all these years hence) “Women of the Internet” pictorial.

She made an orgasmic cameo appearance in Nina Hartley’s Guide to Foreplay DVD.

She ran the absolutely amazing rope bondage website BeautyBound.com until the anti-porn forces of the Bush Justice Department caused her to shut it down. (Thanks for nothing, Alberto Gonzales.)

She has appeared on HBO’s Real Sex and Sex Bytes.

She is the author of the non-fiction books Wild Side Sex and The Seductive Art of Japanese Rope Bondage along with the short story collection Master Han’s Daughter.

She has served as a sex columnist for On Our Backs, CarnalNation.com and Sex Is magazine.

Did I mention how good she looks in a latex cat-suit?

Midori will be presenting “Pink Japan: Contemporary Sex Culture,” Thursday, November 17th,  2011 at 7:30 pm at Shameless Grounds.

*Author’s Note: During the fact-checking of this article, I Googled “Bondage Hall of Fame” and it took me to the website for The Bondage Awards, who have awarded Midori with the Best Writer Award for the last three years running.

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