SUDIRU

This is "SUDIRU" (2025) by Yoshiaki Okamoto and Daichiro Shinjo .

Keisho Okamoto (1937-2024) was a Zen monk based in Miyako Island and a pioneer in folklore studies. He began fieldwork in the Karimata village in the late 1960s, and delved into Okinawan folk culture, influenced by the ideas of Kunio Yanagita, Shinobu Orikuchi, and Kitaro Nishida.

This book contains photographs of ritual ceremonies in Karimata, Shimajiri, Ikema Island, Nishihara, Kurima Island, and Sunagawa that Okamoto photographed from the late 1960s to the late 1970s as part of his folklore study practice as a form of regional studies.

Beyond being positioned as research material, the photographs capture the true essence of the subject, capturing the "natural" figures of people praying and giving thanks to the gods and nature. The space of village rituals was a sacred place that was not easily accessible to outsiders, let alone to the residents of the village. In order not to diminish the dignity of the rituals, the selfless records taken with a half-lens camera -- neither an outside observation nor a completely internal perspective -- breathe life into the spiritual world of Miyako Island, where rituals, nature, and people's activities are deeply connected. The backs of Tsukasa and his friends praying sincerely are not just a landscape, but appear as a powerful "presence" that continues to live on through time.

In addition, his grandson, artist Daijiro Shinjo, has been creating works in which he has layered calligraphy and drawings in indigo and ink over Okamoto Yoshiaki's photographs. After Okamoto's death, Shinjo carefully preserved the precious academic materials he left behind, including his writings, photographs, notebooks, audio recordings, and personal effects.

The past recorded by Okamoto intersects with the present in which Shinjo lives, creating a new "revival." In addition, this "revival" is woven together with academic considerations on "Okamoto folklore" by folklorist Shimamura Yasunori and contributions by photographer Ishikawa Naoki.

The title "SUDIRU" means "rebirth" or "revival" in the Miyakojima dialect. The way his descendants preserve the photographs and spirit of their grandfather for the future in a new form is something to be cherished in today's world, where connections tend to become weaker (Ammel).