This is a set of "Behind The Fly On The Wall Of The Scene" photos taken during a recent shoot for

www.convolvulus.net .
I'll admit right now that I wasn't at my best during this shoot and there are some bad errors in this tie. I had a lot of
other stuff on my mind and couldn't concentrate on what I was trying to do. We'll make a much better job of it at a
later date and before it goes into The Book We've All Been Waiting For! But I hope this sequence will serve to
demonstrate the conventional way of finishing off a 2-rope Takate-Kote with a third rope, which makes it a much
more effective and versatile basis for dynamic suspensions in the Japanese style.
By the way, this method started from analysis and reverse-engineering of photos, and has been confirmed and
slightly tweaked by demonstrations/tuition/discussion with several "name" rope artists. If it closely resembles any
well-known expert's version (leaving aside the blatant errors!), that is the result of coincidence / convergent
evolution rather than of direct copying.

1. Here I'm starting the TK with Boola-Boola wrist wraps in the usual way:

2. The completed boola-boola. Note that (1) the standing part - which will become the stem of the TK - takes a loop
around the working end (bight). That's what makes this a locking, non-tightening, knot. And (2) I've left the bight
long enough to be sure that it won't slip free. Not all shibari riggers do that...
Also note that my model's wrists are turned inwards to face each other.

3. Here's the Boola-Boola completed with the second half-hitch (1). Note that you get it to form this way with a pull
on the working end (bight) (2), not on the standing part!

4. Hooking the upper wraps to the stem. Note the crossover shown by the arrow (2nd wrap over 1st) which helps to
keep things in place as you work. Later that crossing will be pushed around to the back so that all four strands lie flat
around the upper arm.

5. Completing the "friction" at the T-junction between upper wraps and stem:

6. Starting the upper cinches:

7.

8. Second rope added, second upper cinch done, rope locked off with a turn around the stem...

9. Lower wraps done, starting the "friction" around the stem to lock them off. Yes, they're too high, certainly on the
right! Maybe I should have taken another turn around the stem to bring them down a bit. And just as bad, I came in
above the stem not below it, next to the skin. Bad bad bad!!
What was I thinking of? I have no idea.

10. Quite a lot has happened here. I've cinched the lower wraps on the right arm, come back under the stem and
done the cinch on the left. AND THIS IS WHERE THE 3-ROPE TK HEADS OFF IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION FROM THE 2ROPE VERSION!
The rope comes back from the cinch between the upper and lower wraps and then makes a Munter Hitch around
the upper wraps. There are several ways of forming the hitch and it's a matter of personal taste which one you use.

11.

12. Here you can see the Munter Hitch clearly. I think it looks and works better if the rope coming out of the hitch is
on the outside of the rope going in, as here:

13. And here. But also note that crossover on the upper wraps, which really should have been moved further back
and away from the arm. Another black mark for me...

14. And again:

15. The rope goes over the opposite shoulder, down, and back under the lower wraps. Here, I'm pulling the rope
back under the wraps. Somewhere around here you're likely to need to attach a new rope and this time the join
came in quite a good place. Note that for a good visual effect the rope should go inside the upper cinch and outside
the lower cinch:

16. Here it is again. The rope-joining knot isn't the simple lark's head jammed up against the stopper knots, because
that would have brought the join between the arm and the body. I used the "flipped" variation which allows the join
to be positioned away from the stopper knots:

17. Here I've brought the rope back from the cinch and made a Munter Hitch around the upper wraps. This should
be a mirror-image of the one already made on the other side:

18. The next step is to go over the other shoulder (with another Munter Hitch on the way):

19. And the rope then goes down, under the lower wraps, and to the back again:

20. Here my model is helping out by keeping the tension on the rope. I can't remember what I was doing...

21. There's quite a bit missing from the photo-sequence here. From 20 you go across, take a locking turn around the
stem, and forward under the lower wraps on the other side. Then diagonally upwards, hook around the "vertical"
ropes from inside to out, go back across to the other side and hook outside-inside around that set of vertical ropes to
form the "Mount Fuji" shape, and then come back across diagonally downwards towards the opposite arm stopping
for either an overhand twist (as here) or a Munter Hitch on the way:

22.

23.

24. We're coming back under the front of the lower wraps on the left arm. And from there we go up to make a hitch
around the upper wraps and the diagonal rope, exiting downwards to make a Munter around the lower wraps and
then to go "backwards" through the wrist wraps. Just follow the numbers...

27. Here it is without all the arrows:

28. Here we are with the rope coming out of that turn around the wrist wraps:

29. Now we make a Munter hitch around the lower wraps on the right, forming a mirror-image of the Munter on the
left:

30. Go up from there:

31. And make a hitch around the upper wraps and the diagonal rope that mirrors the one on the left. Not the best
possible photos here!

32. Now that the hexagon is completed (and hopefully a bit more symmetrical than this one) take the rope back to
the stem and take a hitch or two around it to finish the tie:

And that's it!