is a

sexologist Sexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, behaviors, and functions. The term ''sexology'' does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sexuality, such as social criticism. Sexologists a ...

, educator, author, artist, speaker, and coach. Midori wrote the first English language book with instruction on Japanese rope bondage and continues to write on alternative sexual practices, including

BDSM BDSM is a variety of often erotic practices or roleplaying involving bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given the wide range of practices, some of which may be engaged ...

and sexual fetishism, bondage, erotic fiction, and more. She teaches classes, presents at conferences, coaches individuals and professionals, and facilitates in-depth weekend intensives. She is based in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Biography

Midori was born in

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...

, Japan, of

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

parents. She grew up in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

and moved to the United States at age 14. Midori studied psychology at

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

. She served as a

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. Since July 2020 ...

Intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can be des ...

officer while earning a degree.

Career

Early in her career she also worked as a condom manufacturer's sales representative. She spent a few years as a

sex educator Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, sexual activity, sexual reproduc ...

with ''

San Francisco Sex Information San Francisco Sex Information (SFSI) is an organization that provides free sex information via the World Wide Web, e-mail, telephone, and online social networking. SFSI also offers a bi-annual sex educator training program and various continuing ed ...

''. After serving in the military, she began her art career performing in queer nightclubs, collaborating with other "weirdo" transgressive and experimental artists. Midori teaches internationally on BDSM, alternative sexuality, feminine dominance,

Shibari means "tight binding," while literally means "the beauty of tight binding." is a Japanese style of bondage or BDSM which involves tying a person up using simple yet visually intricate patterns, usually with several pieces of thin rope (often ...

Japanese bondage means "tight binding," while literally means "the beauty of tight binding." is a Japanese style of bondage or BDSM which involves tying a person up using simple yet visually intricate patterns, usually with several pieces of thin rope (often j ...

, and

kink Kink or KINK may refer to: Common uses * Kink (sexuality), a colloquial term for non-normative sexual behavior * Kink, a curvature, bend, or twist Geography * Kink, Iran, a village in Iran * The Kink, a man-made geographic feature in remote ea ...

. She has spoken at conferences, universities, and organizations promoting sexual health, wellness, and education. In 2021, she worked with th
Sexual Health Alliance
to create the year-lon
Kink Informed Certification (KIC) Program
which offers training to therapists, educators, coaches, or consultants who works with individuals engaging in kink, BDSM, and alternative sexuality. She is known for her in-depth weekend intensives
ForteFemme: Women's Dominance Intensive
an
Rope Dojo: Rope Bondage Weekend Intensive
where she uses her "head-heart-hands" method to create a space where people are allowed individual self-exploration. Her work focuses on helping people to create authentic and intimate relationships while emphasizing self-actualization, shame reduction, acceptance, and justice.

Art

Midori is a multidisciplinary, social practice artist. She creates installations, performances, group exhibitions & social practice projects that examine human narratives, cultural experiences of queerness and Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) heritage, and ephemeral nature of memory and place. She has presented lectures at several universities and is a resident artist at the San Francisco Battery. Midori's work has been shown at San Francisco Asian Art Museum,

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) is a multi-disciplinary contemporary arts center in San Francisco, California, United States. Located in Yerba Buena Gardens, YBCA features visual art, performance, and film/video that celebrates local, nati ...

, Leslie Lohman Museum, SOMArts,

Ithaca College Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music and is set against the backdrop of the city of Ithaca (which is separate from the town), Cayuga Lake, waterfalls, and go ...

, Das Arts Amsterdam, Gorilla Gallery Oaxaca, Root Division, among others. She offers creative coaching and consulting through th
Intersection for the Arts
a Bay Area arts nonprofit that’s dedicated to helping artists grow.

Awards

Pantheon of Leather Awards Pantheon may refer to: * Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building Arts and entertainment Comics *Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization * ''Pantheon'' (Lone S ...

Woman of the Year, 2003 * Sainted b
Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence
2007 * Best Sex Educator by SF Weekly Magazine, 2013 *

Society of Janus The Society of Janus is the second BDSM organization founded in the United States (after The Eulenspiegel Society) and is a San Francisco, California based BDSM education and support group. The Society of Janus is nonprofit, volunteer run and is ...

Hall of Fame, 2019 *

AASECT The American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT) is a professional organization for sexuality educators, sexuality counselors and sex therapists. History and overview AASECT was founded by Patricia Schiller ...

Humanitarian Award, 2022

Bibliography

* ''The Seductive Art of Japanese Rope Bondage'',

Greenery Press Greenery Press is a publishing house based in Emeryville, California, specializing in books on BDSM (particularly femdom) and polyamory, with over 50 titles in print. Most titles are non-fiction, but a smaller number of fiction titles and memo ...

, 2002 * ''Wild Side Sex: The Book of Kink: Educational, Sensual, And Entertaining Essays,'
Daedalus Publishing
2005 * ''The Toybag Guide to Foot and Shoe Worship,''

, 2005 * ''Master Han's Daughter: Tales from Depraved NeoTokyo'' Circlet Press, 2006 * ''Silk Threads'' (co-author)
Riverdale Avenue Books LLC
2019 * ''An Intersectional Approach to Sex Therapy: Centering the Lives of Indigenous, Racialized, and People of Color'' (contributing author), Routledge Press, 2022

References

External links

General info and biography

Classes and events

FetishDiva Midori papers, 1990-2014
MC 985. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. {{authority control American women writers BDSM writers United States Army officers Sex educators Bondage riggers Living people Women in the United States Army Japanese erotic artists American erotic artists University of California, Berkeley alumni American performance artists People from Kyoto Japanese emigrants to the United States Writers from the San Francisco Bay Area American writers of Japanese descent Women erotica writers 21st-century American women writers Year of birth missing (living people)