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MAR 30 2017

Sea, sky, people. 6 years after moving here, photographer Meisa Fujishiro writes about "Okinawa's Blue"

Photographer Meisa Fujishiro, who was based in Hayama, Kanagawa Prefecture, moved to Okinawa with his wife Ayumi Tanabe and son Ryunosuke after the earthquake in 2011, and spent six years surrounded by nature. He plans to move back there in 2017 to pursue his creative endeavors.
As a photographer, traveling is a part of his daily life, and Fujishiro's decision to move to Okinawa could be considered part of a long journey in his life.
What awaited them when they arrived in Okinawa was the rich colors of nature. The "blue" of Okinawa seen through the photographer's eyes. This land, where the sea and sky stand side by side, is said to color the hearts of people beautifully. What is the charm created by the colors of Okinawa?
Please also enjoy the second installment of the series, "The Green of Okinawa," and the third installment, "The Whites of Okinawa."
Text and photos by Meisa Fujishiro

Even when I close my eyes, there is a color that spreads before my eyelids. The blue of Okinawa. It is the blue of the sea, the blue of the sky, and the blue that resides in the hearts of the people who are there.

I've been living here for six years now. The blue of Okinawa has accompanied me every day of my life, shining far and near as if to contrast with the deep, tarry shadows unique to the South Seas, providing me with a small slice of heaven.

画像1: 海、空、人。移り住み6年、写真家・藤代冥砂が綴る「沖縄のあお」

The blue of Okinawa is there in the sky I look up at, in the sky I gaze into, but of course it's not always there, so at times like these, the deep blue that seems to draw me in is reflected on my eyelids, in my heart. In other words, regardless of the weather, I am always with the blue of Okinawa. I can say that the happiness of these past six years can be summed up in this. You may think that it's just a matter of color, but I have lived my life cherishing that simple thing.

I don't know much about color therapy, but I think that what colors give to people is not small at all. Red has the power of red, and yellow has the power of yellow, and I think that at least human beings have been influenced by it and have walked between life and art.

画像2: 海、空、人。移り住み6年、写真家・藤代冥砂が綴る「沖縄のあお」

Each land has its own color that speaks to the land, and I believe that living with that in mind leads to living in harmony with the land, which makes life easier. If you neglect to do this and try to force your own color into the land, trouble will arise. It's easy if you are dyed in the land's color, and I think the trick to living comfortably is to have the space to be dyed in the land.

When I moved to Okinawa, I first lived in an apartment in the new urban area of Naha, where there was no view of the ocean, so I would sometimes go out of my way to go to the beach and enjoy the blue of the sea. Perhaps it was the strength of the sun or the whiteness of the underlying sand, but the blue of the sea in Okinawa is always a beautiful color, always inviting the viewer to its chest, and I always ended up up to my shins in seawater.

画像3: 海、空、人。移り住み6年、写真家・藤代冥砂が綴る「沖縄のあお」

A dazzling time that reminds me of my childhood. The blue of the Okinawan ocean takes my heart, which feels like it has been pinned down to the pages of my daily life with thumb tacks, out of the notebook.

When I grew tired of the ocean view from land, I would often take a ferry from Naha Port to the Kerama Islands, passing through the islands of Tokashiki, Zamami, and Aka, and taking me to the small island of the day.

The blue of the sea is different offshore and on the beach. The blue offshore is very deep, a wild blue. The blue that swells, rises, and sinks with the waves teaches us that color is alive.

画像4: 海、空、人。移り住み6年、写真家・藤代冥砂が綴る「沖縄のあお」

We are alive. And colors are alive too. Two lives meet on the waves, come together, separate, then come together again. Watching this repetition from the deck of a ferry, I naturally lose track of time. The outline of my own self becomes blurred, and I feel comfortable as I melt into the blue of the sea.

When we are having fun, we entrust our hearts to something so much that we disappear, and it is important to know how to make it easy to let go. As a place to entrust our hearts to, the blue of the Okinawan sea is incredibly pure. Perhaps it is a little bit of the other world that is spilling out into us.

画像5: 海、空、人。移り住み6年、写真家・藤代冥砂が綴る「沖縄のあお」

And the blue of the sky. It is the elder sister of the blue of the sea. Without flaunting its influence, she sometimes places her own blue above the younger sister, the sea, drawing a horizon and making it blurry. On the other hand, she also places it above the younger brother, the land, as if she is speaking dreams to the plants, animals, and still lifes. Strangely enough, the color blue suits dreams.

During my life in Okinawa, I have looked up at the sky countless times and sighed at its height. It seems like we could reach it if we stretched out our hands, yet it looks down on us from far away. Beautiful things travel between far and near, guiding us in the right direction. They seem within reach, but they are not. People have longed for them and expanded their hearts. From blue to blue, from the sky to the sea.

画像6: 海、空、人。移り住み6年、写真家・藤代冥砂が綴る「沖縄のあお」

However, sometimes they suddenly appear nearby at unexpected times. My friend who lives in Ginowan, Okinawa, has two beautiful daughters. The elder one is named Ao.

Fujishiro Meisa

Born in Chiba Prefecture in 1967. His works focus on women, sacred places, travel, and nature, and cross the boundaries between entertainment and art. His photo books include "RIDE RIDE RIDE" (Switch Publishing) and "Let's Go Home Now" (Rockin' On), which features his wife, Tanabe Ayumi. He won the 34th Kodansha Publishing Culture Award in the photography category for "Shincho Mook Monthly Series" (Shinchosha). As a novelist, he has published "A Romance Novel Where No One Dies" (Gentosha) and "Drive" (Takarajimasha), and in recent years has also been working on poetry.

The contents published are accurate at the time of publication and are subject to change.

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