Goto, Nagasaki

The islands fill with camellias. The Goto Islands of Nagasaki are a scattering of more than a hundred and forty islands in the East China Sea. From winter into early spring, they are covered in wild camellias, some ten million of them, red blossoms swaying in the sea wind. The camellia is the very fabric of island life; oil pressed from the seeds has been used for hair, for cooking, for lamps. The flowers are not merely admired, they are used, to live. Goto was also once an island of hidden Christians, where people fleeing persecution quietly kept their faith on these remote shores, and their churches are now World Heritage sites. A history lived in hiding, and camellias in full bloom; within the stillness, there is strength. New residents, too, are beginning to arrive. An island of sea, flowers, and faith.

A life with both sea and field. The Goto Islands of Nagasaki are a scattering of more than a hundred and forty islands in the East China Sea, where the way of life called hannou-hangyo, half-farming and half-fishing, still survives. In the morning you go out to sea and catch fish; at midday you till the field. From both sea and soil, you draw your food. You are not bound to a single trade; you live in step with nature's rhythm. That is the island's way. The city demands efficiency, specialization in one thing, but the island is different: many things, a little of each. In recent years, drawn to this life, more people are relocating, some doing remote work while also going out to fish, a new form taking shape. There are trial programs; first, stay a short while, and soak yourself in island time. An island that seems to have nothing, yet has everything.