UMUI - Guardians of traditions

"The Other Japan"

The Ryukyu Kingdom - the southernmost island group now known as Okinawa - was shaped over centuries by influences from China, Japan, and Southeast Asia. Although karate has its roots here, the region's music and dance remain unknown to most people outside Japan. The culture lives on in the sanshin lute and in songs sung in Okinawan, passed down orally through generations. The word umui, from the same language, can mean feeling, movement, spirit - or love, depending on context.

The documentary was made by Swiss-Spanish filmmaker Daniel López, who has lived on Okinawa since 2003. He trains his camera on the village of Ginoza: the oldest residents fighting to keep their heritage alive, and children taking their first steps into tradition. Over the village watches shishi - the lion dog - a protective deity meant to ward off evil spirits. The film won the Grand Prix for best anthropological/ethnographic film at the Tokyo Documentary Film Festival 2022 and has since been shown at festivals from Frankfurt to Phnom Penh.

When the film ends, the evening continues on stage. The lion dog steps out of the screen and takes on the role of storyteller, while several of the film's own dancers perform live with a selection of Okinawan dances: the classic Yotsutake with red lotus hats, rhythmic eisa dances, and a finale where the lion dog improvises to the sanshin. The set design is minimal but complemented by live video and video textures filmed on Okinawa, so that film and stage meet.

The combined film-and-stage version was praised in 2024 by the Japanese Society for Arts Management and toured France in spring 2025, including at the Guimet Museum in Paris. Duration: 75 minutes of film followed by approximately 60 minutes of stage performance. The performance is presented by House of Possibilitas in collaboration with Gothenburg Studios Development, with support from Garaman Hall, Japan Foundation, the City of Gothenburg, and the Västra Götaland Region.