Zawawa: The Sound of Sugar Cane in the Wind
Zawawa is a long-term collaborative project with Rupert Cox and Kozo Hiramatsu. The project began for me in 2011 but Cox and Hiramatsu had been working together to explore Okinawans’ responses to the sound created by the islands’ many US military bases for a while in advance of this (with Hiramatsu conducted a large-scale epidemiological study in the 1990s). Our research has developed into a number of different dimensions. A 50 minute film approaches our themes through engaging with how various interviewees hear the sound of sugarcane (the phrase “Zawawa” is an onomatopoeic coining describing the susurrations of the cane plants and invented by songwriter Naohiko Terashima for his "Satokibi Batake" that was popularised by Ryoko Moriyama). The film premiered in 10 community centres in Okinawa before heading to various festivals, including being short-listed for the Jean Rouch award 2018. A book, published by Archive Books will bring transcripts with the interviewees, field notes and essays, including one of mine that involves listening to the soldiers’ and citizens’ written testimonies of the Battle of Okinawa for evidence of auditory experiences. A publication of audio compositions, mainly field recordings from the project, will also be released.
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Rupert Cox (L) and Okinawan audience (R) in
2018 NHK documentary about our research.
2018 NHK documentary about our research.