Japanese moviegoers face the possibility of being bound to their seats by a flick celebrating one of the country's most revered and racy traditions -- rope bondage, according to Shukan Shincho (5/29).

"Bakushi," the name given to the professional rope bandage artists and the documentary to be shown in Tokyo's Shibuya on May 31, has already been viewed by rapt audiences at well-known international film festivals like Rotterdam and Buenos Aires.

The documentary follows some of Japan's most famous bakushi as they go through the, er, ropes of kinbaku, the practice of rope bondage.

"The first time I ever saw kinbaku was when I was working as the assistant director on a blue movie. I wonder what was enjoyable about it," Ryuichi Hiroki, the 54-year-old director of "Bakushi" tells Shukan Shincho. "I've got no interest in kinbaku myself. But I like how the bakushi and his models can communicate through a single piece of rope, even though there's no actual conversation between them. I wanted to capture this communication on film."

Hiroki's main subjects are Chimuo Nureki, Haruki Yukimura and Go Arisue, all among Japan's most famous bakushi.

"Speaking in terms of sado-masochism, the bakushi is the sadist, but they have to understand a masochist's mentality as well," Hiroki says. "In a way, the bakushi are also masochists themselves because they're forced to respond to the demands of the women they're working on. I really like that paradox."

Kinbaku, the weekly argues, is a truly unique Japanese practice.

"Other countries have bondage, where they use stuff like rubber suits and leather belts, but it's pretty rare to use ropes to tie people up. I guess it comes from Japan's culture of using ties for clothes like kimono, or furoshiki (wrapping cloths)," Hiroki says. "When I show this overseas, people always come up and ask me if all Japanese are like the people in the movie."

A woman working to promote the movie says she finds the practice of kinbaku to be alluring.

"I'm a little bit jealous (of the models)," she tells Shukan Shincho. "Being able to communicate without words is sort of wonderful... Not that I'm into this kind of stuff, mind you." (By Ryann Connell)