Sunset glow at Nirai beach: Okinawa main island

With the low, gentle sound of waves, the bright sun is quietly sinking beyond the far horizon, while coloring the sky into deeper crimson. The sun seems to secretly unveil the way to the distant island of "Nirai Kanai," which is the promised land across the ocean believed in by the folk belief of the Ryukyu and Amami Islands. 

Dark purple wisps of clouds are drifting slowly across the sky to herald the imminent arrival of quiet twilight and the end of a day.

On the shore where the small waves continue lapping calmly, the clusters of massive Ryukyu marine limestone formations, which have been immemorially shaped by the vast history of the ocean, are quietly bathed in the pale sunlight. They are casting rugged dark silhouettes that remind me of the profound stone arrangements of the Zen gardens.

Sunset glow at Nirai beach: Okinawa main island

Ryukyu limestone is a porous natural stone (sedimentary rock) widely distributed throughout the Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa and Amami Islands). It was formed over hundreds of thousands of years as the remains of dead organisms (such as coral fragments, foraminifera fossils, shell fragments, calcareous algae, and so on) coalesced and accumulated amid ocean currents and eventually rose to form islands. 

Over an immeasurably long period of time, various marine forces—such as decomposition and weathering caused by seawater, rainwater, winds, waves, sunlight and so forth—have sculpted these rocks into complex and mysterious shapes.

It contains countless microscopic pores that absorb and release the ocean’s atmosphere and harbor innumerable microorganisms. It can be described as “the living rock that continues to breathe.” 

Due to its high water absorption and porosity, moss growth and darkening or destruction caused by weathering occur, giving rise to its rough surfaces and divine, strange shapes.

Sunset glow at Nirai beach: Okinawa main island

In the mythology of the Ryukyu Islands, massive boulders and cliffs formed from Ryukyu limestone have been revered by the people of these islands as “places where the gods dwell,” and have served as central features of Utaki (sacred sites) and places of worship. 

The mysterious vitality emanating from the marine limestones—shaped by the timeless forces of the vast southern sea—has given rise to the history of faith and worship concerning the Nirai Kanai paradise located deep in the sea.

Sunset glow at Nirai beach: Okinawa main island

 

Sunset glow at Nirai beach: Okinawa main island

 

Sunset glow at Nirai beach: Okinawa main island

 

Sunset glow at Nirai beach: Okinawa main island

 

Zanpa beach: Okinama main island

 

Dried leaves of Adan (pandanus tectorius): Okinawa main island

A fruit of Adan (pandanus tectorius): Okinawa main Island

The adan is an evergreen small tree that thrives on the beaches of Okinawa Island, forming dense crowds along the coast. It grows to a height of 3 to 6 meters and its stems curve upward at an angle, branch out, and produce numerous aerial roots (supporting roots). The leaves are narrow and elongated, 3 to 7 centimeters wide and 1 to 1.5 meters long, with sharp spines along the edges.

The adan is dioecious. On male plants, male flowers hang down from the leaf axils, while on female plants, female flowers appear at the tips of the branches. This plant bears spherical, pineapple-like fruits (aggregate fruits) about 20 cm in diameter, which turn orange when ripe. These fruits are not edible to humans but are a favorite food of coconut crabs and hermit crabs. 

The part humans eat is not the fruit or the tough leaves, but the tender young shoots. On the Yaeyama Islands in Okinawa, they are eaten in Chanpuru (stir-fries) or as Tempura. The leaves are stripped of their spines, sun-dried, and used to make mats, baskets, hats, and other items.

Zanpa Cape: Okinawa main island

 

Rose garden: Ofuna Botanical Garden (Kamakura)

Early summer has just arrived here and the bright sunlight is shining on this rose garden intensively. These countless rose flowers are silently competing with each other to show their magnificence just like the elegant ladies attending the joyous celebration for welcoming brilliant summer.

The flooding of lights, colors, and fragrances in this garden enchants me utterly and makes me be absorbed in taking photographs for remembering the spellbinding beauties before my eyes.