shashasha

　Looking back on five years worth of photographs, the ones I was drawn to had light and color. 　There were quite a lot of those and I thought I’d like to put them all into one volume, so I took them to Himeno-san at Akaaka Art Publishing. She complimented me, saying they were very good. I almost never got told that my photographs we're good, so I thought “Is that so! They’re good photographs!” I was happy to hear it. That was at the beginning of winter last year.

　Later I took her a lot of pictures of Okinawa. I think there were about 600. I met with Himeno-san many times and we exchanged thoughts on them. We kind of naturally settled on light and color, although there were a few other types of photographs, too. The direct line of sight I took was most strongly evident in the light and color pictures. All the while I was going back and forth to Akaaka, I was also going back and forth between the photographs I had taken and the actual Okinawa I lived in to make sure there were no contradictions or lies. There weren’t. 　I spent five years living side by side with the light and color of Okinawa. If you are there, you can see and hear and touch the history of the islands and the issues Okinawa faces now. I didn't want to photograph those things, probably because I wanted to put Okinawa in its true setting of light and color. It was an unconscious choice, but a strong one nevertheless. I think I intuitively realized that it was what I should do.

　The beauty of primordial light and color seen in the nature of the islands and fragments of life there if put into words would be “blue-blue” and if given meaning would be something close to prayer. I pray for the happiness of the blue-blue world of the islands. 　This photograph collection begins and ends with the sea. It is a cycle of water. The last photograph could be seen as a father apparently performing some ritual chant for his child. The sublime beauty of the fading light knows neither time nor place. Morning comes and we return to the first page. Another day full light, color, and prayer has begun.

― Artist statement