Sesoko Island

This guide to Sesoko Island in Okinawa moves from the sand and snorkeling visible from its bridge into a fishing village that has staged its own theater for centuries, for an audience of one: the god who lives in the island's central shrine, said to have arrived from China in seventeen twelve. It follows the lion dancers who work through the lanes each summer for shishimai, and shinugu, the older harvest rite meant to hold the year's spirits at bay, alongside pija oorasee, the twice yearly ritual where two goats meet head to head.