In this article I present a selection of images from '
Rai's Playroom' which explore the eroticism of Speedo-style swimming trunks in the context of shibari style Japanese bondage.
A swimmer surveys his domain of the pool wearing skimpy, snug-fitting swimming trunks.
He adopts confident pose that's intended to attract attention and impress.
This sort of man provides the inspiration for Speedo bondage enthusiasts.
The trunks are no less attractive when the wearer
is enmeshed in a complex network of rope restraints.
Carefully sited loops around the buttocks accentuate their shape.
In the Locker Room a story of captivity is also unfolding for this muscular specimen.
His purple trunks are a delightful, bold adornment for a body that has bulk and shape
without being excessively defined.
This more slender swimmer finds himself in a luxurious flat.
Minimally bound, the full beauty of his body can be viewed,
and his hands prevented from obscuring or (protecting) his trunks.
It's the same story here with slightly tighter arm restraint but nothing below the chest
but this man's arms are squeezed behind him by the restricting sides of the bucket chair.
So, his torso pushes forward, creating a dipping, inviting, sling shape in his Speedos.
It's not just the pouch at the front that that's the source of Speedo man's allure!
The ropework here immobilises the subject's arms most emphatically,
leaving his skimpy and very tight trunks to tease and tempt.
They are shamelessly designed to accentuate the shape of his rear
with the colour contrast creating an erotic 'double cup' effect.
His submissive kneeling pose is a beauty.
You can see additional ropes snake inside the trunks, to lodge in intimate places.
Their insertion has further depressed his waistband, opening up the teasing cavity.
This tight-fitting rascal has brought another young man into the limelight.
Out in the real world pants as tight as this would be a fashion faux-pas.
In this domain it's a form of restraint in itself, doubling up on the ropework.
The Speedos bunch the flesh into succulent shapes
that can be examined and enjoyed without hindrance.
Here the bondage master demonstrates his control by lightly touching the Speedos.
There's an extra twist in this image, normally the trunks on this site are shiny and immaculate.
Look closer here and you'll see this man's turned up in a very old, worn pair.
The master rips them open to ensure it won't happen again.
I'm quite glad he did.
But for these plain, white 'Asics' there's no need for such crudeness.
The removal of the inner lining and a splash of water ensures all can be seen.
The scene starts out with an upper body, ropework 'harness'.
It's beautifully formed around the man's pecs,
both sympathetic and flattering to their shape.
Rai's fantasy unfolds with the captive appearing in a hotel room, now wearing a hood.
It's as though he's been brought to some strange appointment at a secret location
and with a person whom he is not permitted to see.
The hood deprives him of his sight and identity
and he bows his head in a gesture of submission.
His fate is to be tied down awkwardly on the bed
with legs secured in an immobilising doubled-back position.
His thighs are held open by side ropes
showcasing his wet 'Asics -' and their clinging fit.
Unencumbered by any ropework, the trunks seems to gain added prominence and accessibility,
like a sort of clothed nudity, especially crafted for a purist who likes his Speedos served up 'straight'.
Rai's site has a significant emphasis on this highly complex style of bondage 'art'
It's often more decorative and psychological rather than strictly functional.
This lower body harness seems to create a wasp-like narrowing of the waist
whilst broadening the hips and thighs and highlighting the hairless lower abdomen .
The binding of this captive is further embellished by leg entwinements anchored by the toe.
The practical effect is to create discomfort and make movement more difficult for him.
Visually though it adds bulk and the impression of strength being restrained.
The red 'Mizuna' Speedos stand out enticingly through a cleverly shaped 'window'.
In these sorts of settings, the Speedos seem incongruous and inherently ritualistic.
Their briefness and tightness impart a sense of vulnerability and exposure to the wearer
so that the simplest of holds here creates a powerful sense of subjugation and peril.
Shibari can be a very dark art which manifests as highly stylised bondage for this man
It goes beyond mere restraint and body wrapping into forced poses and contortions.
as though he is entering a mysteriously threatening rite.
In this darker context, the Speedos shine out through the complex of ropes
like a beacon of innocence and athleticism belonging to a different world.
The pole here anchors the arms and restricts the posture,
the captive is drawn into a tight, testing, compression position
harking back to the origins of the art as a punishment for captured enemies.
A manly sport indeed for those with the courage and flexibility.
By contrast, this equally comprehensive roping has a child-like innocence about it.
But the leg-bindings, which seemed like simple adornments in an earlier picture,
transform into restraining sleeves and anchors for complex meshes of restraint.
The face taping starts to seem part of an integrated neutralisation.
Even the Speedo identity starts to disappear into the spiders web.
This amazing image keeps the Speedos centre-stage.
It's a more open pose but equally immobilising.
Although it is highly erotic there is nothing explicitly sexual in the picture.
This raised, 'stork' leg constraint is more suggestive and puts the spotlight back on the trunks.
In a strange way, the sheer proliferation of ropes impies a presumed strength in the prisoner.
The shower floor scenario here draws on the athletic and watery connections of swimsuits to create a nice air of authenticity, but makes the swimmer's plight seem all the more extraordinary.
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Rai's Playroom focusses on a particular style of Speedo bondage, peculiar to Japan. It encompasses a wide range of other masculine iconography as well as swiming trunks. The imagery straddles the line between the sexual and the merely erotic and even if you are not attracted to the extremes of shibari, some of his imagery is amazingly powerful and exciting.
I'm planning follow up articles that spotlight the Western view of Speedo men in bondage.
See lots more pictures like this and lengthier sequences at
Rai's Playroom.
This article forms part of my 'Asian Festival'
click on the label below for others
