Zawawa - Listening to the Aftermaths of Conflicts in Okinawa

Zawawa began in 2011, when acoustic scientist Kozo Hiramatsu, anthropologist Rupert Cox, and artist Angus Carlyle met in Okinawa. After their earlier collaboration Air Pressure, the trio turned to an island deeply marked by the last battle of World War II, 27 years of U.S. occupation, and an ongoing military presence. Over seven years, they followed the listening experiences of Okinawans, letting these guide their sound recordings, filming, and interviews. Their fieldwork took them to the edges of airbases and jungle training camps, to bars, markets, lagoons, sacred groves, and ceremonies with priestesses and villagers. The resulting film premiered in civic centres across Okinawa before touring festivals worldwide and being shortlisted for the Jean Rouch Award in 2019. This illustrated bilingual book brings together extended interviews with survivors of the "Typhoon of Steel," ten further testimonies of auditory life, audience responses, and essays by the three creators, complemented by contributions from Okinawa-based scholars.