Kohima: A photography exhibition documenting Nagaland’s cultural heritage and way of life in 1979 was inaugurated at the Museum Annexe Courtyard of the Directorate of Art & Culture in Kohima on Wednesday.
Titled “Time Travel to Nagaland, 1979: A Japanese Photographer’s Record of Life and Tradition”, the exhibition features photographs taken by Japanese ethnographic photographer Yuzo Morita during his extensive travels across the state in 1979.
The exhibition was organised in collaboration with the National Museum of Ethnology (NMoE), Osaka, Japan. The event also featured the launch of the Database of Naga Collection housed at the NMoE and the Digital Archives of Morita’s Photography Collection.
Advisor for Art & Culture and Treasuries & Accounts K. Konngam Konyak, who attended the event as the special guest, said the exhibition offered an opportunity to look back at Nagaland through Morita’s photographs.
He said the photographs documented the people, traditions, everyday life, landscapes and cultural practices of Nagaland more than four decades ago, serving as records of the state’s cultural memory.
Konyak highlighted the growing collaboration between the Nagaland State Museum, Department of Art & Culture, and the NMoE, Osaka, describing it as an opportunity for cultural exchange, research, documentation and knowledge sharing.
He also welcomed the launch of the digital resources, saying they would make cultural and photographic materials more accessible for research, education and future generations.
Commissioner and Secretary, Art & Culture, Bodeno S. Colo, in her welcome address, said the exhibition was significant as it brought together Morita’s extensive photographic documentation of Nagaland during an important period in the state’s history.
She described the photographs as visual records that could help present generations reconnect with their traditions, communities and way of life.
Colo said the exhibition was an outcome of the Statement of Cooperation signed on August 5, 2025, between the NMoE and the Nagaland State Museum, reflecting the spirit of friendship, cultural exchange and scholarly cooperation between Japan and Nagaland.
Director, Art & Culture, Adela Moa, said discussions on possible cooperation in Naga culture, exhibitions, documentation and academic research began following interactions with representatives of the Japanese museum.
She said officials from the department subsequently visited the NMoE in Osaka, worked on identifying artefacts and contributed to the development of the Naga collection database.
Moa said the initiative involved around six months of work and had been a valuable learning experience. She described it as an effort to connect the past with the present, strengthen cultural and academic relations, and promote the documentation, preservation, research and transmission of Naga cultural heritage.
Associate Professor at the NMoE, Osaka, Emi Okada, said she first visited Nagaland in 2012 and was deeply impressed by the state’s traditional singing and distinctive musical culture.
She said the NMoE houses around 250 artefacts related to the Naga people and that the two institutions had been working together on research, exhibitions and documentation of the collection.
Okada said Morita’s photographs from his 1979 visit to Nagaland had also been digitised and made available through a new digital archive.
She expressed hope that the exhibition would provide an opportunity to revisit Nagaland’s cultural life in 1979 while recognising traditions that continue to be cherished today.
The programme featured folk performances by Rüsokhrie Krotho of Kohima Village and the Pochury Cultural Troupe, Kohima.
Dear Reader,
Every day, our team at EastMojo travels through rain, rough roads, and remote hills to bring you stories that matter – stories from your town, your people, your Northeast.
We do this because we believe in truthful, independent journalism. No big corporate backing, no government pressure – just honest reporting by local journalists who live and breathe the same air you do.
But to keep doing this work, we need you. Your small contribution helps us pay our reporters fairly, reach places others ignore, and keep asking the tough questions.
If you believe the Northeast deserves its own fearless voice, stand with us.
Support independent journalism. Be a Member.
Thank you,
Karma Paljor
Editor-in-Chief, eastmojo.com
The Database of Naga Collection and Digital Archives of Morita’s Photography Collection were launched by Konyak, followed by the inauguration of the photography exhibition.
The programme was chaired by Assistant Archivist, Art & Culture, Temjenjungla Aier, while Additional Director, Art & Culture, N. Thungchano Yanthan, delivered the vote of thanks.
Also Read | Explained: A year after Zubeen Garg’s death, what would justice look like?