He works in various mediums, such as photography, objects, video and text, to construct narratives on the subjects of sexual minorities and untold stories in history, often in relation to Okinawa.
The series, a culmination of Miyagi's multidisciplinary approach, consists of a blog, numerous video works, and a novel, and mimics the evolution of his oeuvre from semi-autobiographical to historically based fiction.
The photographs, said to elicit feelings of unease and awkwardness, have been lauded for their ability to encapsulate the “double identity crisis” Miyagi was experiencing in both his journey coming out and his status as a foreigner.
[9] For his solo show at Daniel Reich Gallery in 2006, Miyagi displayed some of his multi-medium proclivities with the inclusion of handwritten translations of a Japanese pop song and objects made from relics in his room along with the photographs.
[11][non-primary source needed] These works were early examples of Miyagi's interest in the process of removal or absence and the subsequent potential for creating new meaning, which came to serve as guiding theme throughout the remainder of his career.
[7] In many of his works between 2007 and 2011, Miyagi continued to draw from personal experiences and often referenced actual people and events in his life, such as gifts for his parents that he never sent or translations of songs he used to listen to as a teenager.
"[13][non-primary source needed] From the late 2000s onwards, Miyagi also began to combine his personal experiences with the stories of fictional characters, notably a relationship he had with an imagined AWOL soldier in Okinawa.
[6][non-primary source needed] As he continued his research, Miyagi used the blog as a site to record memories and findings about the hidden relationships and untold stories within Okinawa.
[14] Miyagi went on to create five video works for American Boyfriend Series: Ocean View Resort (2013), A Romantic Composition (2015), Flower Names (2015), How Many Nights (2017), and The Dreams That Have Faded (2018).
Similar to the progression of the blog, the evolution of the video works increasingly expanded outward from personal experiences to those of numerous mythical, fictional, and historical figures.
While the characters and settings of each work differs, most of the stories include undertones of suppressed queer desire and Miyagi's ruminations on possible people and relationships that might have existed but weren't saved or popularized in the records of history.
[19] A Romantic Composition presents the fictional relationship between an Okinawan pianist and American Vietnam veteran, also an amateur violinist, and the friendship they developed together after a night spent drinking, playing music and watching movies at the bar in the Okinawa Hilton.
The story is narrated by the veteran's son who reveals that his father was a closeted gay man and left his family due to the trauma he sustained during the Vietnam war.
[20] Miyagi has noted that the music choice of Bach's Chaconne was significant because the piece, which had been once forgotten and later unearthed, was a metaphorical foil to the bodies of soldiers and Okinawans buried during the war remain undiscovered.
[21] Flower Names is broken into multiple chapters spanning from European mythology to contemporary Okinawa and are connected by the universal theme of cyclical violence and desire.
The work begins with the story of Chloris who was raped by Zephyrus, and subsequently features the love triangle between Zephyrus, Apollo and Hyacinthus, which Miyagi has noted was a story that Mozart attempted to make into an opera even though same-sex relationships were forbidden; the romantic relationship between Marcel Proust and composer Reynaldo Hahn; and ends with an American serviceman stationed in Okinawa who talks about the lack of impact the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell had on US bases.