We recently received this book as a gift and I was amazed at how beautifully easy it makes learning some simple Japanese bondage.

Author Fetish Diva Midori has done quite a bit to bring kink, power exchange and fetish to audiences world wide and "The Seductive Art of Japanese Bondage" is another glowing accomplishment for Midori.

The book itself is broken down into three basic sections. The first section, The Heart, contains an introduction, some history and folklore regarding rope in Japan, a brief story that erotically describes a rope scene from the viewpoint of both top and bottom as well as a step by step analysis of a scene from both perspectives.

The most useful part of this section, to me, is the step by step analysis. It's broken down into incredibly useful yet easy to read and understand tips on each element of a rope bondage scene; from inspecting the rope to how bondage can stress a bottom's body to how to move a bottom as you work with him or her. It talks about focus and feedback and some very simple reasons why things are done as they are. It's concise and to the point while still being a well rounded analysis for the beginner to rope bondage.

The second section, The Body, is all about rope; how to select it, where to get it, how to clean it, what tools you'll need and how to stay safe. It's a short section but it covers the basics very, very nicely.

The third - and longest - section, The Techniques, focuses completely upon the seven different ties Midori is teaching. Each one has a full page photograph displaying a model in the tie as well as fairly detailed illustrations of the instructions. Instructions themselves are step by step and very easy to follow.

I'm really excited about this book as a beginners tool. It doesn't show complicated knots or bondage positions that need a lot of hardware. There is only one partial suspension in the book. Everything else is simple, useful and easy to build upon once a person gets more skilled with rope.

The only downside to the book, for me, was the photographs. Photographer Craig Morey is normally one of my favorites and, while these photos are crisp and well composed, they all look very posed and unnatural. They're obviously models and I see no real connection between most of the models and Midori. A shame, since a good rope scene can produce some of the most wonderful connections which, in turn, produce gorgeous photographs. These are slightly disappointing.

Beyond the lack of connection there is, at least, a diverse sampling of models; male, female, black, asian, caucasian, blonde, dark, thin and pudgy are all represented.

Just wanted to mention that some friends stopped over a few weeks ago, saw this book, flipped thru it, then stole it right off my desk! (Ok, borrowed, but insistently!) They're rope novices and couldn't be more pleased with the descriptions and step by step instructions provided in this book.

It's definitely a hit with just about everyone who's seen it and used it!