藍染　INDIGO

2024, photo essay

Shot in Kamiita, Tokushima prefecture.

色をこえて青を見る　A color I named blue

Coming soon

16min

Two Japanese indigo dyers embark on a transformative, inner journey: one uncovers the profound meaning within the hues of blue, while the other finds a new way to see through his colorblindness.

Driven by the memory of a deep shade of blue he cannot forget, Watanabe dedicates his life to the pursuit of recreating Japan’s most perfect shade of indigo. With each passing season, he seeks to understand the unique alchemy of factors that will bring forth his ideal hue — but none succeed. Fate introduces him to Kato, a young artisan who is colorblind. Kato too stands at a crossroads—will he let his condition limit him, or will he use his ability to see color in a way no one else can?

As both men embark on their individual, inner journeys — we witness the deeply personal story of Japan’s most famous color, and uncover the emotional and physical transformations that create this shade of blue.

Behind-the-scenes stills from METAMORPHOSIS, a feature-length documentary about how climate change affects different communities around the world. As part of this, the film features the story of Japan’s Ama free divers whose century-old tradition is now threatened by “isoyake.” Masae-san and her community are fighting to protect their precious abalone, but will Mie’s Ama culture and the underwater world survive the looming threat caused climate change?

More coming in 2025.