We stayed in Yura starting May 1 to create paintings for the sliding doors of a tea room. The stormy weather settled down around May 2, and almost every day we would walk out to the Yura coast early in the morning to offer a prayer drum performance on the beach.

As if nature had heard the sound of the drums, the clouds and light shift in time with the music. At times amidst rough waves, at times over a calm, gray sea, the sound of drums echoes and blends together.

Sometimes the Kito family joins in as well.

In the distance, the mysterious islands of Kanmuri-jima and Kutsu-jima can be faintly seen.  It is said that an invisible “Gate to the Divine Realm of Ryugu” opens between these two islands.

In Yura, the mountains and the sea change every day with the light, the wind, and the clouds. It is a beautiful place where you are amazed by the fresh scenery every morning.