Far from criticizing Araki Nobuyoshi (born 1940) and Yonehara Yasumasa (born 1959) for perpetuating problematic notions of gender, many female admirers find the images of these photographers to be sensual, erotic, and empowering. “I hope that those who disregard Araki’s photos as misogynistic fantasies will reconsider that initial impression in the light of my work,” says Tsubaki Anna (b. 1970), a female artist who deals with similar images of kinbaku. In her opinion, erotic bondage is laden with religious significance:

…it goes back to the Shintō belief system and its concept of musubu (literally, “tying knots”) and musubi (literally, “bundle”) as the beginning of all things. I don’t think that those terms were meant to convey the superficial act of tying knots. I think they were intended to mean something far more sexual in nature. All things are born out of the act of bondage. That’s the connection that I see.

-Interview with the artist, July 2014. (Translation by Stephen Salel)