“According to ancient Hindu philosophy, man is made up of five elements: Earth, Water, Fire, Wind and Ether. The term ‘prana’ means, “wind” in Sanskrit. The wind holds the energy of nature, and we take that energy into our body by breathing in deeply. “ I heard this story twenty years ago from an old skinny man with white hair and wide bulging eyes in Chichi-jima, in the Ogasawara archipelago. He was called the “legendary diver” who, at the age of fifty-six, accomplished the remarkable feat of diving one hundred and five meters into the deep blue sea without the help of any diving equipment. When I take photographs, sometimes I feel the invisible energy. I feel as though this energy exists, not only in the nature, but also in lives of each and every thing, including human lives. Whenever I try to express this feeling into words, I recall the word “prana” and the story that the old skinny man told me long time ago.

Satoru WATANABE