Youko (JPN), dominatrix, Tokyo

‘I used to work in an SM club and bars for 7 years before becoming a freelance dominatrix about 3 years ago. So now I just go to wherever the client wants me to come and there we play. I couldn’t see me do any other job, but just like my tattoos, it’s something that’s rather hidden from the outside world, due to society.’

‘I kind of just rolled into my job. From a very young age I was always interested in kind of bizarre things, different from the mainstream. I had  just started reading books and researching things and before I knew it I was working in an SM club. It just happened. And now more than 10 years have passed. It was clear from the start that I would be the controlling S in life, not the submissive M. In a strange way it reflects in my private life as well. I can have normal friendships with women, but all the men I befriend, seem to automatically end up in this lower position and before I know it this results in a power role play. I can’t seem to befriend men who don’t follow me in this. It’s not that I try to push it in that direction, but if I look in my direct environment, all the men seem to be M and I’m always S.’

‘There’s a lot of diversity in the requests I get. I just enjoy being in charge. Of course the client has to be satisfied, but my own satisfaction is important too, and I get it through domination of my slaves. My English is not what it needs to be yet, but when I can make a foreign client bow down for you and completely worship me, without even mastering the language, that’s pure satisfaction.’