Transpacific Photography and the Obscura Project: Post World War II Life in Japan

On September 2, 1945, Japan signed an unconditional surrender aboard the USS Missouri, officially ending World War II. The surrender came just months after V-E Day in Europe and the devastation of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. What followed was a sweeping Allied occupation that reshaped Japan’s political, social, and economic systems under General Douglas MacArthur.

This small photography display highlights a rare and personal perspective on this pivotal moment in history. Wayne Wong, a U.S. Army Signal Corps soldier stationed near Kyoto in 1945, captured over 200 images of daily life in rural Japan during the early days of the occupation. Using a Leica camera he acquired from locals, Wong documented scenes seldom seen in official records.

The negatives remained undeveloped for nearly 80 years, until his son Curtis Wong brought them to light. Today, these photographs provide an intimate glimpse into postwar Japanese village life, expanding our understanding of the human experiences that unfolded in the shadow of global conflict.

In partnership with University of Washington students from the Human Centered Design & Engineering Department, MOHAI is exploring new ways to share and interpret these images—inviting us to reflect on war, memory, and resilience.

In bringing these rare photographs to a wider audience, MOHAI first partnered with University of Washington Students on a project with these images through a capstone project with the Human Computer Interaction + Design Department. The goal was to develop new ways of engaging with historic photos.

Featured image: Children sitting on a doorstep in a village outside Kyoto, Japan, c. 1945. Photo by Wayne Wong, courtesy of Curtis Wong