A Record of One Man’s Love, Passion, and Lifelong Dedication to Myanmar’s Ancient Art of Bare-Knuckle Fighting
Based on original testimonies by Takuya Takamori, coordinator of the Myanmar-Japan Lethwei goodwill tournaments (2004–2017) and identifier of the Bagan Lethwei murals (2005).
The Discovery in Bagan
People involved in Lethwei often said the sport had roughly 1,000 years of history. No one really had actual proof though.
Takamori decided to look for proof himself. In 2005, having saved enough from his modest income to fund the trip, he went to Bagan, the ancient city whose more than 3,000 temples and stupas stand as the architectural heart of Myanmar’s ancient history dating back to the 9th century (Year 849). His reasoning was simple: if Lethwei was 1,000 years old, then Bagan was the prime place to look.
He hired an interpreter and spent three days moving between villages, asking questions, gathering fragments of information.
On the third day, he found two locations with murals that seemed relevant: one in a famous, accessible temple where a painting near the entrance had been overlooked by everyone who walked past it; another in a small stupa-like structure hidden in overgrown grass. Its interior was littered with alcohol bottles and cigarette butts, apparently used as a hiding place by local youth.
Both murals clearly depicted two figures fighting. But Takamori could not be certain they documented Lethwei. The villagers saw nothing remarkable in them.
When he returned to Yangon and contacted archaeological experts, the person he spoke to acknowledged knowing of one mural but said it had never been connected to Lethwei. When Takamori pressed the point, asking how they could overlook a connection to Myanmar’s national sport, he was asked if he was talking about Chinlone.
Takamori was stunned. He explained his position with as much care and urgency as he could, and eventually obtained the formal view that those Bagan murals could indeed be considered depicting the roots of Lethwei.
Takamori recalled,
“I immediately contacted Win and showed him the photos of the murals I had taken. When I went to his house, it seemed Win had called a Lethwei journalist as well. Win was incredibly surprised when he saw the photos projected on the TV, and he looked at them while repeatedly adjusting his glasses. The journalist had tears in his eyes and was moved. I thought that anyone involved in Lethwei would understand that this might be the original form of the sport, but seeing Win’s look of surprise, I was convinced: “I found it!””
The murals were later estimated to have been painted between 800 and 950 years ago. The phrase “1,000 years of Lethwei history” entered common usage from that moment. The broader sports and Lethwei world had not known of these murals before Takamori’s report.
“There were likely people, such as the Bagan villagers, who saw these murals before me,” he concurred. “However, it is acknowledged that I am the one who obtained confirmation that these murals were the roots of Lethwei, ensured there was no mistake from an archaeological perspective, and conveyed it to the Lethwei industry.”
When asked if that was his only expedition to search for Lethwei’s history, he stated:
“If I had the money, I would love to travel all over Myanmar to trace the history of Lethwei. What I can say is that it’s more accurate to say Lethwei has “more than 1,000 years of history” rather than just “1,000 years.” I imagine there is definitely more proof of those “1,000+ years” out there. After all, I found “1,000 years” in just one search; I believe that if one did this 100 times, the probability of discovering even older evidence is high. I wonder if there is anyone who will carry on this work after me.”
