On first setting foot on the African continent, I was immediately struck by the realization that human beings are a crystallization of all that is fundamental to the earth and universe as a whole.

This became especially clear to me on visiting the north-west Cape region of South Africa. An expansive area with a hot, arid Mediterranean-type climate, it is quite literally transformed in spring into what many have called a "garden of the god's".

Because the conditions here are so severe and the land is so poor and dry, during one concentrated period plants germinate, flower, and produce seed which is either carried on the wind or on the backs of animals to fall and continue the line. Most of the flowering plants are meager in statue and look rather frail but a closer inspection reveals that each one stands firm and resolute. For eleven months of the year they are storing up energy to release in one short burst of activity in a manner that is reminiscent of the intense determination which men and women need to survive in natures midst.

Although such a "garden of the god's" may appear to be one kind of paradise, it is not simply a heaven without pain. What it taught me was that without harshness there is no real truth.

by Shin-ichiro Sawano

BIOGRAPHY

Shin-ichiro Sawano was born in Tokyo, Japan, in 1959. Between 1986 and 1989 he set up a photographic section for the Malawi Government (Southeast Africa) while a Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer. After returning to Japan, his photographs of the flowers, landscapes and the people of Malawi and South Africa were exhibited all over Japan. Since 1993 he has also been concentrating his photographic talents on natural childbirth. This work has been exhibited in many places and is also on display in a number of clinics and hospitals. In 1998 he released a video and CD-ROM entitled "Born to be Loved". Shin-ichiro has worked in over 60 countries and has set foot on all the World's continents except Antarctica.