Itō Seiu伊藤晴雨
Japanese painter (1882–1961) whose research into historical rope restraint earned him the title "father of modern kinbaku".
Itō Seiu was born in 1882 in the Asakusa district of Tokyo. He worked as a painter and sculptor, and he is widely recognized today as the father of modern kinbaku.
Itō studied and researched hojōjutsu, the historical Japanese technique of restraining prisoners with rope, and he is credited with the beginnings of kinbaku as an art form. His interest also drew on kabuki theater and ukiyo-e woodblock prints.
For his paintings of Edo-period torture scenes, Itō tied models in different positions and photographed them as reference material. His work drew the attention of censors in 1930.
In 1977 the Nikkatsu studio released a film about his life, directed by Noboru Tanaka. Itō died in 1961.