Our Story

Founded in 1956, Sarpaylawka Bookstore began as a mobile bookshop operating from the back of a truck that traveled to street corners across downtown Rangoon. When new city regulations in 1959 prohibited street vending, the mobile service was forced to close. Undeterred, the founder purchased a small shop beside the Ritz Cinema Hall (now Sakura Tower) that August, marking the bookstore’s rebirth in a permanent home on Bogyoke Aung San Street, where it operated until 1962.

A new chapter began that same year with the acquisition of an under-construction apartment on 29th Street, which became Sarpaylawka’s first established storefront. In 1968, the shop relocated to 33rd Street, behind Sakura Tower, a site that remains a central part of its identity to this day.

Over the decades, Sarpaylawka Bookstore has expanded across Yangon, growing to eight branches and adding publishing and commercial printing services under its name. What began as a single mobile bookshop has evolved into one of Myanmar’s most respected literary institutions, continuing a legacy of knowledge, creativity, and resilience.