shashasha

"It was the summer of 2011 when I learned that the Naga people lived in the thick forest between the borders of north Myanmar and India. I had just finished traveling across the Kingdom of Bhutan, staying at Guwahati, northeast India on my way back to Japan when I picked up a photo book at an old bookstore. Turning over pages of the thick photo book titled EXPEDITION NAGA, there were black and white photographs from the 1920s~30s, taken during the colonization of England and photographs of the Naga people living in the deep forest, taken after 2000. The courageous Naga people make their living by farming and hunting, living along the high mountain ridges of Myanmar and India. Wearing powerful costumes using red and black as basic colors, with sharp eyes as wild animals, they stand still in the morning dew. Instantly, I could not take my eyes off them."

-Nao Tsuda, excerpt from afterword, NAGA

Born in Kobe 1976, Nao Tsuda’s NAGA captures the natural landscape and indigenous tribe of the Naga people who live within the jungles which border Myanmar and India. The series of photographs vividly capture the people and traditions both portraying its past and the changes which they have faced due to the growing influence of modernization. From beliefs to practices, Tsuda’s images are an emotional and sincere portrayal of a people and culture living alongside tradition and modernity.

Included within the publication is an essay by Kotaro Iizawa and afterword by Nao Tsuda. All text available in both Japanese and English.