Ikko Kagari - Packed Train: An Infrared Photo Documentary - 1990

Packed Train: An Infrared Photo Documentary

Ikko Kagari
Okura Publishing/1990/Japanese/213*298*8

No publication year is listed, but this book is likely the 1990s photo collection Crowded Commuter Trains: Infrared Photography Document. The photographer who immediately comes to mind when thinking of “infrared photography” is Kagari Ikko, whose career details remain obscure precisely because he is also known as the “Intimate Photographer.” In the early 1980s, Kagari acquired an infrared camera through certain circumstances. He subsequently published the collection ‘Document - Commuter Trains -’, composed of images he shot over the following six months. The numerous photographs, targeting “molestation” and “under skirts” on commuter trains, depict an unknown, dark world. Capturing the raw reality of human sexuality and desire with a cold, clinical eye, these images—characterized by exceptional chiaroscuro and unique compositions—are not only erotic but also evoke the work of photographer Kohei Yoshiyuki, who used the same infrared strobe to capture nighttime park scenes. This unique body of work has garnered high acclaim internationally. Although this book does not credit the photographer, considering the included images, publisher, distributor, and book design, it appears to be a document of “Crowded Trains” that also contains images by Kagari Ikko.