Keisho Okamoto, Daichiro Shinjo: SUDIRU

SUDIRU — meaning "rebirth" in the language of Miyako Island, Okinawa — presents photographs of sacred rites taken by Okamoto Keisho (1937–2024). A Zen monk and pioneering folklorist, Okamoto witnessed and photographed ceremonial rituals throughout the Okinawan islands from the late 1960s through the 1970s as part of his fieldwork.

The images are at once invaluable scholarly records of rites that even local residents were rarely permitted to attend, and arresting portraits of people deep in prayer, offering gratitude to the gods and to nature. Working with a half-frame camera, Okamoto — who had no formal training as a photographer — produced a selfless form of documentation that offers a raw and intimate view of these sacred moments.

The book is edited by Daichiro Shinjo, an artist and Okamoto's grandson, who first discovered a stack of his grandfather's negatives and prints. It also features their collaborative work, in which Shinjo drew calligraphic marks in indigo and ink directly onto Okamoto's prints. A scholarly essay by folklorist Takanori Shimamura, "Okamoto's Approach to the Study of Folklore," together with a contribution by photographer Naoki Ishikawa, adds further depth to this exploration of cultural continuity and transformation.

Published by AKAAKA in 2025
152 pages
Size: H297mm x W228mm
Japanese & English
ISBN: 978-4-86541-195-9