2025

written & directed

W.J.A. Kluijfhout

Kylian Weijers

director of photography

Remko Schnorr

montage

Kylian Weijers

color grading

Remi Lindenhovius

art director

Eiko Ishizawa

featuring

Chitose Ohchi

camera assistance

Keiji Ito

produced by

W.J.A. Kluijfhout

It's me, Sonogi

For centuries, Japan and the Netherlands shared a unique relationship—one shaped by isolation, commerce, and cultural exchange. From 1639 to 1853, the small artificial island of Dejima, in Nagasaki, served as Japan’s only open gateway to the outside world. The Dutch were confined there, unable to step onto Japanese soil, and Japanese citizens were largely forbidden from interacting with them.

Except for a select few.

Among them were the Yujo women of the Maruyama district—courtesans highly trained in the arts, conversation, and cultural diplomacy. They were the only Japanese women permitted to cross into Dejima, acting as entertainers, confidantes, and unwitting mediators between East and West. Their presence shaped the exchange of language, ideas, and emotions, the collected cultural treasures and knowledge from Japan to the West and the Western scientific knowledge entering Japan. Yet their contributions remain largely absent from historical records.

One of these women was Sonogi. This is her story.

Originally released as a 12-part instagram film and video installation, the full-length film (10') is awaiting its full release. The 12-part instagram film can be viewed on the dedicated instagram page of Sonogi:

As part of the Tokyo and Amsterdam film & art exhibition Sonogi, the woman in blue.

It’s Me, Sonogi is a short film created as part of the interdisciplinary exhibition Sonogi – The Woman in Blue.

The project is a collaboration between Chitose Ohchi, Eiko Ishizawa, Willemiek Kluijfhout and Kylian Weijers, and brings together film, ceramics, textiles, jewelry, and historical storytelling to explore the largely forgotten history of Sonogi and the Yūjo women of Dejima in Nagasaki. Figures who played a crucial role in the early cultural exchange between Japan and the Netherlands during the Edo period. 

Tokyo | March 23 – April 1, 2025
Tokyo October & FEELSEEN Ginza

Amsterdam | May 3 – 10, 2025
P/////AKT Amsterdam