KOUMANAWA
Munich company that acts as exclusive global distributor for a Japanese yarn and rope maker, supplying JBO-free SHIZEN asanawa jute batched with soybean oil to shops, groups and individuals.
KOUMANAWA GmbH is a company registered in Munich, with Stephen Hastings named as managing director in its imprint. It does not teach or run events; it supplies rope. The company describes itself as the exclusive global distributor for, and consulting engineers to, a Japanese yarn and rope maker, which its website does not name.
Product
Its rope is sold as SHIZEN asanawa, which the company says was developed, designed and engineered specifically for shibari. According to the company, the fiber is 100% Corchorus olitorius, that is tossa jute, and the KI-grade yarn is twisted in the maker’s own modern mill. Instead of the conventional jute batching oil (JBO), a processing lubricant discussed under oil treatment, the fiber is batched with cold-pressed soybean oil that the company describes as non-rancidifying and fortified with vitamins A and D. Its stated mission is to supply non-JBO shibari rope ethically, with a focus on consistency, availability, affordability and sustainability.
Distribution
Orders are placed through a contact form, which returns a quotation with payment details, and enquiries from the European Union are shipped from Germany. The website links to sales points in other regions: a KOUMANAWA site for Australia, a shop listing in Canada, an account in the United Kingdom and a shop in the United States. The site is available in English, German and Japanese.
For buyers, the main point the company makes is the absence of mineral-oil batching, a concern that rope guides raise about some jute sold for bondage.