Banta, the title for this series, comes from the Okinawan term for the cliffs
on the Japanese islands of Okinawa. On his first visit to the cliffs James
Nakagawa recalls being vividly impacted by their epic beauty, most notably the
jagged shadows and coral limestone streak-ing the cliffs, as well as their
history. He made photographs on his subsequent visits which he collaged
together digitally to recreate the emotional experience of the place. Nakagawa
says “As I re-shaped and re-experienced the original digital images, these
cliffs became a metaphor for Okinawa’s history as well as digitally-manipulated,
hyper-real vision of my experience standing between fear and beauty on
Okinawa’s banta.”

The islands existed as an independent kingdom
until the late 19th century, when the Japanese conquered them. At the end of
World War II, the islands stood at the forefront of the U.S. advance against
Japan. As the civilian population endured months of attacks from both sides, a
number of civilians committed suicide at the cliffs to maintain their dignity,
rather than submit to the humiliation of surrender and captivation.