Miura Takumi was a leading rigger of the Heisei era and yet little known outside Japan.
This article is a tribute to the memory of this rigger, who should be a reference for everyone, as much for his technique and career as for his approachability and sense of humor.
He was born in 1964 (year 39 of the Showa era) and probably joined Akechi Denki’s circle in the eighties. Together with him he founded the Bakuyukai (縛友会, society of tying friends) in 1998, and he was mainly responsible for keeping it going after Akechi’s death.
He had his own studio in Tokyo, Ability Studio, where he organized workshops and events in 2001. He died suddenly on November 1, 2021 (year 3 of the Reiwa era).
On November 2, 2025, a gathering in memory of Miura Takumi and Saikatsu was held at the Kanna studio (Meguro, Tokyo), organized by Kamui Jubei and Shima Shiko.
His professional career centered mainly on the adult film industry, and he worked regularly with several SM magazines.
Of his legacy, the four-DVD series Kinbaku gigata hoten (緊縛技形宝典), in which he shows his techniques, is worth highlighting. They are hard to find; at one time copies were available from the now-defunct SunShop. Getting hold of a copy would be worthwhile for its historical value.
Likewise, the films he took part in were available on various Japanese websites, but because of the situation of the adult industry in Japan and the country’s new laws, they were withdrawn from online catalogs.
Bakuyukai / 縛友会
The Bakuyukai was founded to study and teach kinbaku.
With Akechi Denki as the group’s founder and Miura Takumi as its chief instructor, they established what would become probably the first dojo devoted to formally teaching shibari kinbaku in Japan.
When Akechi Denki died, Miura sensei became the dojo’s sodai (總代), while Harutokyo took on the rank of chief instructor.
The model developed for the Bakuyukai represented a different approach to teaching, influenced by models used in martial arts such as kendo (剣道).
The Bakuyukai website presented the dojo as a space for learning and mastery.
According to Miura sensei, the Bakuyukai was founded to create an alternative style of learning.
Most teaching at the time took place in workshops or koshukai (講習會), meetings where a specific technique or set of knots is taught to a group.
For example, everyone might gather to learn how to tie a gote.
The Bakuyukai developed a model that allowed groups of students at different levels to meet and work on various skills in the same space.
Miura sensei maintained that this approach benefited junior students by letting them watch more advanced kinbaku, shaping their learning from the start.
Sessions at the dojo did not follow a set curriculum; instead, each student could work at their own pace.
Once a student felt they had mastered a set of skills, they could request an exam to earn a rank within the dojo, starting from a beginner rank, moving through three skill levels and finally reaching the rank of instructor.
Progress through the rank system depended on the ability to complete the forms correctly and within certain time limits, which became increasingly demanding as skill levels rose.
While skill and efficiency matter, Miura sensei constantly insisted that what matters most is safety.
Students learn to avoid and prevent rope injuries, which is why suspensions are not part of the curriculum; Miura sensei taught them only in private lessons, and only after students had mastered the basics.
Between 2005 and 2006, Akechi Denki and Miura sensei released a four-volume series of instructional videos focused on the tying process.
At the time, Akechi and Miura felt that videos were too focused on the finished ties, and they wanted to create a series centered on the process.
Strictly speaking, Miura pointed out, they lacked the specificity of a true “how-to” video (which is why the case carries a warning in Japanese), but he understood that people would use them as a resource for learning to tie.
Many consider these videos first-rate instructional material in Japan.
In 2005 (year 17 of the Heisei era), Miura organized an evening of kinbaku performances in honor of the great master Akechi Denki, who had just died.
Everything suggests the event took place in Shinjuku Nichome, and the performers included the rope dominatrix Kano Chiaki (狩野千秋), the eronawa specialist Harutokyo (春兜京), Miura himself and Osada Steve (長田スティーブ) with the artist Asagi Ageha (浅葱アゲハ).
Among the guests were NuideTokyo and Harukumo (春蜘), a licensed instructor of Osada-ryu and Yukimura-ryu and owner of Harukumo Juku in Zurich.
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