Yamashiro Chikako (born 1976) makes works on themes related to Okinawa, such as U.S. military bases and the battle for Okinawa during the Pacific War. She uses a variety of media, such as film and photography, and often sets her works within hakaniwa* or beside picturesque views of the ocean. The artist herself appears in many of her works, as she attempts to give poetic or symbolic expression to aspects of Okinawa with her own body. It is also possible to detect in her works such universal themes as femininity and physicality, the relationship between life and death and memory and narrative. More recently, Yamashiro's work has entered a new phase as the artist has started to use third parties as her subjects.

* Hakaniwa : Gravestones in Okinawa are usually over two meters in height and surrounded by small “gardens,” roughly 10 square meters in area. These gardens are known as hakaniwa.