Separated from the mainland by the sea and shaped by their own distinct histories, the Ryukyu Islands preserve some of the deepest roots of Japanese spiritual belief.

In places such as Yanbaru in northern Okinawa and Amami Ōshima, people still honor the spirits that dwell in water, fire, stone, and the countless forms of nature,living with a keen sense of connection to their communities—including ancestors who have already passed on.

The pulse of the earth, carried through ancient and abundant nature,and the ways of the heart preserved by those who have recognized the divine in the natural world offer us another way of understanding the world.

For those of us living in uncertain times, these are gifts of immeasurable worth.