KSB Magazine #16

Dear readers… this magazine closes a cycle. What started in autumn 2019 (in a different world), we grew, became bigger, more diverse. We aimed to research the roots and culture of Kinbaku, its inner beauty – and what it can mean for us, non-Japanese people.

Ugliness not defined as the antithesis of beauty,
But as it stands alone.
Ugliness by design.
Ugliness as in what is unpleasant, violent, or immoral – and in whose eyes?
What is ill in nature, as society deems nature to be molded. What is not accepted, what makes one feel repulsed – or what is to be considered repulsive – and again, in whose eyes?
An ugly behavior, an ugly feeling, an ugly belief…

The ugly thoughts you are left alone with, that plague you and fill you with shame to think that anybody else could ever learn about the impulses that reside inside you.

We do not try to prove that ugly is beautiful.
We try to understand why ugliness is, as an aesthetic with boundaries of its own.

Saara Rei

Kinbaku, Rope Bondage is not beautiful on its own. As much as it is BDSM, Kink, Tabu it touches the ugly feelings inside us. We are perverts! And this makes us marginalised, outcast from society. It makes us the same to the forefathers, the foremothers, the midwives of this art. Outcast, perverts they all were… in the shadows.

Much of what makes Kinbaku authentic are the ugly thoughts we are left alone with. These thoughts plague us and fill us with shame.

Not feeling alone with these thoughts and feelings was one of the intentions that drove us making this magazine. There must be space for these feelings as well. They make us human.

We produced 16 of them, diving into the depth of the underground culture that feeds into Kinbaku, that is derived from it, that nurtures us. We are not alone. You are 350 – probably even more, assuming that you do not hide your precious magazine in the closet – but share it with friends.

We dedicate this last issue of the cycle to “Ugliness”, to that ugliness, or wrongness we all feel. Enjoy this magazine – it is not ugly at all.

But before that: Ending a cycle also bears the seed for a new beginning. N°16 ends this cycle – but not the project. We will renew and relaunch already this summer…

Stay tuned!

Alexander MA