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.