Rare 1979 Nagaland photographs return to Kohima for exhibition

Kohima: Rare photographs taken by Japanese ethnologist Yuzo Morita in 1979 are currently on display in Kohima. The exhibition runs for four days at the State Museum of the Directorate of Art and Culture. It captures a specific moment in the history of Nagaland. Visitors can see how communities and traditions changed or endured over four decades.

Advisor for Art and Culture K Konngam Konyak attended the event as a special guest. He called the exhibit a way to reconnect with the roots of the state. "The exhibition would allow visitors to revisit Nagaland's cultural life of the period while recognising traditions that continue to be cherished today," said Emi Okada, Associate Professor at the National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka.

The Nagaland State Museum organized the event with the National Museum of Ethnology, also known as Minpaku. This collaboration follows a cooperation agreement signed on August 5, 2025. Minpaku opened in 1974 and holds roughly 345,000 items from global cultures. Their vault contains 250 Naga artifacts including shawls, necklaces, and headdresses. Some of these items were gifted to Morita during his 1979 trip.

The program also introduced a digital archive of Morita's photography and a database for the Naga collection in Osaka. Director of Art and Culture Adela Moa stated that the project required six months of work. A team from Nagaland traveled to Japan to help identify artifacts for the database. This effort aims to bridge gaps in cultural research for students and future generations.