VOLUME 47
OKINAWA
Shuri Castle, Shisa Guardians & Kerama Blue Reef
Okinawa is not Japan, or it became Japan late. The Ryukyu Kingdom traded with Ming China, Korea, Siam, and Java for four centuries before annexation in 1879, and that inheritance is still visible at street level, in the grammar of the place. The roof tiles are red, not dark, and they curve; they are set in pale lime mortar and weighted against typhoon. A shisa sits at each gable, one mouth open, one closed. The instrument on the porch is a sanshin, three strings stretched across snake-skin, not a shamisen. The dye on a folded length of cloth is bingata, stencilled in peony and wave. Awamori rests in clay kame jars in a back room, not sake in cedar. The dance at dusk is Eisa, taiko shouldered high above the line of dancers. Even the dead are housed differently here: the kameko-baka, a turtleback tomb cut into coral limestone, holds the family bones above ground. Forty studies, page by page. The vermillion gables of Shureimon. The mangrove channels of Iriomote opening into rooted shade. A cluster of umibudo glistening in a small bowl. A shisa pair, unpainted, fresh from a Tsuboya kiln. Begin anywhere.
“Red tiles, reef shallows, sanshin at dusk.”
- 40 original Okinawa Prefecture illustrations
- Single-sided pages to prevent bleed-through
- 8.5 x 8.5 inch square format
- A mix of detailed and breathable compositions
- Brief editorial introduction to Okinawa
- Anyone with an interest in Japan, its culture, and its tropical southern islands
- Adults who use coloring for relaxation and quiet focus
- Fans of detailed line art and Johanna Basford-style mindful coloring
- A considered gift for friends and family with a love of Japan or coastal travel
The Okinawa coloring book is Volume 47 of Sora Mikami's Prefectures of Japan series, a 47-volume collection that explores Japan one prefecture at a time. It gathers 40 original black-line illustrations of Okinawa. It draws on Shuri Castle, Shisa Guardians, and Kerama Blue Reef, alongside the everyday scenes Okinawa considers its own.
You will find Shuri Castle, Shisa Guardians, and Kerama Blue Reef, together with the landmarks, food, and quiet corners that give Okinawa its character. The compositions move between detailed, intricate pages and calmer, more breathable ones, so there is something for every mood.
Yes. The book mixes detailed illustrations with more open, breathable designs, so beginners and experienced colorists alike can settle in. The large 8.5 x 8.5 inch square pages give you plenty of room to work, and every page is printed single-sided.
Colored pencils, markers, and gel pens all work beautifully. Because every illustration is printed single-sided on white paper, you can use heavier media without bleed-through onto another design. Slip a sheet of card behind the page if you want to be sure.
It is Volume 47 of a planned 47, one book for every Japanese prefecture. The volumes can be coloured in any order, and together they sketch the whole country one place at a time. Okinawa sits in the Kyushu & Okinawa region of Japan.
