Gote takatekote

Gote takatekote

The gote takatekote is one of the principal tying techniques in modern Japanese kinbaku. It has many alternative names including takatekote (高手小手) and gote shibari (後手縛り). It also has more than one way to read the name, for example: gote takatekote, ushirote takatekote and ushirode takatekote.

Kanji

後手高手小手 (Japanese)

Alternative "Readings"

• Gote takatekote
• Gote takategote
• Ushirode takatekote
• Ushirode takategote
• Ushirote takatekote
• Ushirote takategote

Alternative names

• Box tie (English)
• Chest harness (English)
• Gote munenawa shibari (後手胸縄縛り)
• Gote shibari (後手縛り)
• Kotetaka (小手高)
• Munenawa (胸縄)
• Takakote (高小手)
• Takatekote (高手小手)
• Takatekote shibari (高手小手縛り)
• Ushiro takatekote (後高手小手)
• Ushiro takatekote (後ろ高手小手)
• Ushiro takatekote Shibari (後高手小手縛り)
• Ushirote takatekote (後ろ手高手小手)
• Ushiro kote shibari (後小手縛り)
• Ushirode shibari or ushirote shibari (後ろ手縛り)

Analyses

On the Beauty of Kinbaku in Gote Takatekote. Kitan Club. Apr 1953

Gote indicates that the wrists are tied behind the back. Takate is an old word referring to the area of the upper arm. This word can also be understood to represent a high position of the arms. Kote means wrist.

USAGE 1: Bondage that positions the wrists behind the back and rope is wrapped above and below the breasts where upper arms are fixed (see figure). The wrists are not necessarily in a high position.

USAGE 2: When takate is interpreted as a high position, the wrists must be in a high position. In this case, gote shibari (or ushirote shibari) is used to represent the state in which the wrists are not in a high position.

USAGE 3: For most shibari in ancient hojojutsu, takate, kote and neck are key positions that must be tied. In this sense, they can belong to gote takatekote (see for instance, Tsujimura's early shibari). They don't necessarily contain chest harness ropes. However, it is not clear whether the term "gote takatekote" existed in ancient times or not (probably not). It could be a new word invented in the 1950s to the 1970s. The word "takatekote" can be seen (at least) in writing in 1923, but it is not known whether it represents hojojutsu style or modern style. Modern style shibari with chest harness appeared in artwork in 1888 (Meiji era). It is highly possible that people at that time practiced a modern style gote takatekote in kabuki plays but it is not clear what it was called. Police in the Edo period (1603-1868) didn't use a chest harness (with limited exemptions).

Gote Takatekote in magazines

Chimuo Nureki's How-to-tie Classroom 2: One Rope Takatekote. (Shosetsu SM Select, 1985)

• Takashi Tsujimura・Tetsuzo Tsukamoto, "On the Beauty of Kinbaku in Gote Takatekote", Kitan Club1953.4, Article
• Koji Sugihara, "Takatekote", Kitan Club1954.4, Photo
• Tetsuzo Tsukamoto, "How to Take Kinbaku Pictures: Examples of Gote Takatekote", Kitan Club1961年.9, Article
• Tetsuzo Tsukamoto,『"How to Take Kinbaku Pictures: Examples of Kubinawa and Goteshibari", Kitan Club1962.4, Article
• Unknown, "Gote Takatekote with Black Nawa and a Bar", Kitan Club1964.2, Photo

Gote Takatekote in art works

• 1888, Eitaku Kobayashi.
• 1924, Sengai Igawa
• 1947, Sentaro Iwata
• 1948, Kazuya Naka
• 1950, Toshiyuki Suma's work in Kitan Club July.
• 1951, Toshiyuki Suma's work in Kitan Club February.
• 1952, Tatsumi Shimura
• 1952, Toshiyuki Suma's work in Kitan Club July.
• 1952, Toshiyuki Suma's work in Kitan Club September.
• 1953, Kentaro Tominaga
• 1953, Toshiyuki Suma's work in Kitan Club March.

Gote Takatekote in novels

• 1923, The word takatekote appeared in the writing of Yoshikazu Manabe.