On the island of Ryukyu, centered around Okinawa, people have long believed in a world that exists beyond the ocean which is different from the one they live in, called “ Nirai Kanai .” The people think that the gods who bring them happiness visit them from Nirai Kanai . On the other hand , there is a place where the spirits of dead head toward .
However, in this photograph work, I aimed to visualize Nirai Kanai as a place existing in this world that we live in now. Because I think that death not only exist at the end of life, or lies in opposition to life; rather, death coexists together with life, or life is encompassed within death.



Manabu Someya is a photographer based in Tokyo, Japan.
To view more of Manabu Someya's work, please visit his website.