Myanmar: Between Two Histories

Insight Myanmar

“Before COVID-19 and before the Myanmar coup, I thought that ‘memory of war’ meant only World War Two inside Myanmar. But after 2021, I realized for local people the condition is like a war now.”

Hitoshi Kameyama, a Japanese photographer, first visited Burma in 2005 on a photography tour organized by his teacher. At the time, he admitted he had little interest in the country itself, but upon arrival his impressions quickly shifted. He had expected something akin to a closed and repressive state like North Korea, but instead he encountered open markets, colorful goods, and smiling, welcoming people. This warmth and vibrancy drew him back, and he soon began returning again and again—eventually making more than 25 trips before the pandemic.

These repeated visits allowed Kameyama to build lasting relationships with villagers. He often photographed people in their homes or daily routines and then returned on later trips with prints of those photographs to give back. This cycle of exchange deepened his bond with communities and became a foundation for his long-term engagement with Myanmar.

The political reforms beginning in 2011 opened new opportunities. After Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD party won in 2015, photography and journalism became freer, and Kameyama began to reflect on what it meant to be a foreign photographer in a rapidly changing country. While Japanese companies expanded their investments, he turned toward a different focus: documenting the remnants of the Japanese occupation during World War Two and the stories carried by villagers who had lived through it.

In 2017, he was invited into the home of an elderly woman who shared how Japanese soldiers had stayed in her village for over a year, giving salt, sugar, and tea in exchange for labor. Stories like this inspired him to launch a long-term project, eventually published as Burma Myanmar Memories of War 2019–2024. At first, his plan was to focus solely on memories of World War Two, but the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2021 military coup forced him to adapt. Unable to enter the country, he redirected his efforts to the Indian and Thai borders, where refugees had fled. In places like Imphal, Moreh, and Mae Sot, he sought out displaced families, teachers, and injured resistance fighters, expanding his project to encompass Myanmar’s ongoing conflicts.

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