OKINAWA 9!

Finally a dream came true!

After months of plannings, meetings, selections and much more today we inaugurated the photography exhibition 'Okinawa 9!' at the Tenbusu Building.

Reaching this target has been very long, but I'll make it very short:

ARIGATOU GOZAIMASU to Tanaka-san and to his wonderful staff!

ARIGATOU GOZAIMASU to my friends Rumiko, Tatsu and Ryuhei for the great help in organizing the whole thing!

ARIGATOU GOZAIMASU +  THANK YOU VERY MUCH to all the eight photographers that joined me in this amazing adventure!

GRAZIE to all the visitors that came to watch our photos!

Here's a little selection of images of the event, starting from the opening day.

Shawn Miller

Ryuhei Okada

David Orr

Chris Willson

Hiroshi Kuwamura

Masahiko 'Porco' Miyaichi

The sous chef Tatsu 'Mabuya'

Kanako-san, a sanshin master (from Hokkaido!) at the opening

 

Brasiuuuu!

Some V.I.P. came to the exhibition and fans asked for autographs

Also a big THANKS to Gary Hughes for his great video made during the opening day!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vojVZktdLY&feature=youtu.be

ARIGATOU GOZAIMASU to Shuji Higa-san for printing our photos!

4th day - In this exact moment I feel like I took some (good) DRUG.
Half an hour a go suddenly a ghost appeared...

The same lady of my biggest picture displayed at the photo exhibition 'Okinawa 9!' stepped into the gallery.

The SAME lady that I photographed the first day I started taking photos in Naha and in Okinawa, three years and a half ago. Then I caught her at the phone along Kokusai-dori, the tourists avenue, where usually Okinawans don't go much. For a second she was the perfect model in the perfect place: dressed in black, with some pink details, on a pink background with a black Jamiroquai's shape (a music shop).

A trolley in one hand, a phone in the other one. I was absolutely sure she was a tourist.

But yesterday a local friend of hers recognized her - "She's XZY-san! She lives in ABC!".

I was shocked.

Today, now, I am 100 times shocked.

The World is a small place, and Okinawa is even smaller, but...

So I asked her to pose for me one more time, this time on request. My friend Ryuhei took a photo of us together. I promised to give her a copy of the picture, I will very soon. I gave her my business card and some of my postcards.

Now, excuse me, I go for a hot (or maybe cold) shower, I need to recover.

5th, last day - A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

Oshiro-san, the model of my Jamiroquai-photo at 'Okinawa 9!' exhibition, made SATA ANDAGI (Okinawan 'donuts') for me (us) after we met yesterday.

She gave them to our common friend, who just brought them.

They are still warm. The biggest ones of my entire Okinawan life...

Oshiro-san, I love youuuuuuu!

(Sato don't get jealous, ok?; besides, you never make sata andagi for me...)

A moving moment, this evening, when the daughter of the old lady (still alive) in this beautiful portrait of my friend David Orr, a master of black and white photography, visited the photo exhibition.

Less than one hour to go... 'Okinawa9!' is almost finished, but we will repeat it soon (maybe during Christmas?).

Between the last visitors my mother-in-law, who brought wonderful cookies from Kamakura.

Brava suocera!

THANK YOU very much, Ty McClelland, for your beautiful photos of the last moments!

Some comments of the visitors

Minna-san, arigatou gozaimasu!!!