Galaxy Beneath the Sea

This photograph was taken off Mikura Island, Japan, during November, a time when autumn fades into winter and the waters grow cold. As always, I entered the sea without scuba tanks, relying solely on freediving. With my underwater camera firmly in hand, I prepared myself for another session with the dolphins. After several descents, the unexpected unfolded before me. I encountered a dolphin swimming within a rare underwater phenomenon, where the sand from the seabed rose and drifted like clouds. It was in this extraordinary moment that my training in Shinto-inspired spiritual discipline became essential. Rushing in recklessly would have only disturbed the dolphin and scattered the delicate veil of sand. Instead, I calmed my breath, executed a smooth dive, and moved with minimal gestures, waiting for the perfect instant to press the shutter. When I later showed the image to the island’s residents, their reaction was one of astonishment. Even the fishermen, who have lived side by side with dolphins for generations, admitted that they had never witnessed such a sight. Their words confirmed to me that what I had captured was not only rare, but perhaps unseen before. To me, in that fleeting dive, the dolphin appeared as if dancing through a galaxy hidden beneath the sea. The rising sand became stars, the darkness of the ocean became space, and the dolphin’s movement transformed into a cosmic dance. The title of this work reflects exactly that impression—an instant of awe, where the elegance of the dolphin intertwined with the profound mystery of nature itself. This photograph represents more than documentation. It is a collaboration between an animal’s grace and the unseen dimensions of the natural world, revealed only for a moment to those patient enough to wait. Through freediving, discipline, and humility before nature, I was fortunate to capture an image that transcends the boundary between reality and imagination, echoing the eternal connection between humanity and the sea.