Attracted by the paintings of Isson Tanaka, I visited the island of Amami-Oshima in the south of Japan. His paintings feature the exotic local flora and fauna, a bold composition, unique coloring, and, more than anything else, a strange “light and shade” perspective that really does make you feel as though you are looking out from inside a forest. I wanted to see the Amami that Isson saw with my own eyes.