I have been visiting Myanmar since 2005, and have been surprised by the transfiguration of the city during the last few years. Big shopping malls and luxury hotels are popping up one after another in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city. The construction boom is continuing, the bus system is being reformed, and the Internet infrastructure is developing.
Prior to that, Yangon was only a place I passed through on the way to photograph the Inlay Lake area.But recently my time spent in Yangon has been increasing. Here, I started to mingle with Myanmarese photographers and photography students and I recognize that it is here, with both its good and bad points, Yangon is at the forefront of modern Myanmar. Because of its importance to Myanmar’s present and future, I thought that it was necessary to also include not only Inlay Lake, but also photographs of Yangon.
As the country moves away from being a semi-isolated state under the military regime, and enters a period of rapid change, I hope the people of Myanmar move towards a future that they desire themselves; and as the circumstances around them evolve, I hope they do not lose their way as a brighter day will come.
Hitoshi Kameyama
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