is a group of three Japanese

photographers A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographers As in other ...

and their associates who worked together on exhibitions and books from 1992 until 2009 or a little later.There was a 24 January 2009 symposium by and about Raika Dōmei. Its domain name, raikadomei.jp, was functioning as its website as late as 28 December 2009, but by 25 August 2011 was being used to advertise diet pills. (The

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...

did not archive the website between these dates.)

History and concept

In 1992, the artist, novelist and old-camera enthusiast Genpei Akasegawa, the artist

Yūtokutaishi Akiyama (1935 – 3 April 2020) was a Japanese people, Japanese engraving, engraver artist, photographer, and occasional politician.Yutaka Takanashi is a Japanese photographer who has photographed fashion, urban design, and city life, and is best known for his depiction of Tokyo. Life and career Takanashi was born on 6 February 1935 in Shirogane-chō, Ushigome-ku (now Shinjuku), Tokyo."Chron ...

met at the opening party of an exhibition by the singer Anri Sugano () and found that they had happened to bring along a Leica M3, M2 and M4 respectively. They found that they shared an enjoyment of mechanical cameras and also enjoyed walking around the streets taking photographs together.Exhibition notice
for "Hakata Yamamori", Gallery-58. Accessed 14 March 2009. From that time until 2009 or thereabouts they walked around

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most po ...

, Hakata,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, Mie, and

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

; and exhibited and published the results. Planned in early 2009 were photographs of

Kurashiki is a historic city located in western Okayama Prefecture, Japan, sitting on the Takahashi River, on the coast of the Inland Sea. As of March 31, 2017, the city has an estimated population of 483,576 and a population density of 1,400 persons per ...

( Okayama). The three said that they hoped their photography would preserve the individuality of the photographer, and that it would appeal not just to enthusiasts of Leica and other mechanical cameras but rather to all. Akasegawa published an essay, "Raika Dōmei", about the group. The three had no rigid allegiance to the Leica brand, or even avoidance of electronics: each photograph in the book ''Tokyo Kaleidoscope,'' for example, is annotated with a mention of the camera and lens used; the photographs by Akasegawa use a variety of cameras (including the Contax G2), and many of those by Takanashi use a Hexar RF.

Exhibitions

All the exhibitions listed here were by the three photographers as a group. *"Raika Dōmei happyōkai" (). Bokushin Garō (Tokyo), 1994.Lists of exhibitions, ''Takanashi Yutaka: Hikari no fīrudonōto'' () / ''Yutaka Takanashi: Field Notes of Light'' (Tokyo: National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, 2009) pp. 161, 163. *"Nagoya o toru"　(). Art Gallery C-Square,

Chukyo University is a private university in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, with campuses in Nagoya and Toyota. The main building is located in Yagoto, Shōwa-ku, Nagoya. Notable faculty members * Naomi Miyake, cognitive scientist * Koji Murofushi, Olympic hammer t ...

(

), June–July 1996.List of past exhibitions
at Art Gallery C-Square, Chukyo University. Accessed 14 March 2009. *"Honchō yorigasumi" (). Konica Plaza (Tokyo), 1996. *"Sanjūshi (). Art Gallery C-Square, Chukyo University (Nagoya),　June–July 1998. *"Kyū-Kyōbashi-ku Raika-chō-ten"　(). Inax Gallery 2 ( Kyōbashi, Tokyo), January 1999. *"Pari kaihō" (). Art Gallery C-Square, Chukyo University (Nagoya), April 2000. *"Hakata raishū" (). Mitsubishi Jisho Artium (

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since anc ...

), February–March 2001. *"Tōkyō kareidosukōpu" (). Art Gallery C-Square, Chukyo University (Nagoya),　September–October 2002. *"Ra-haikai Tōkyō-hen" (). Library gallery,

Musashino Art University or is a private university in Kodaira, Western Tokyo, founded in 1962 with roots going back to 1929. It is known as one of the leading art universities in Japan. History In October 1929, was founded. In December 1948, it became , and in ...

(

Kodaira is a city located in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 195,207 in 93,654 households, and a population density of 9500 persons per km². The total area of the city was . Geography Kodaira ...

, Tokyo), June–July 2003. *"Ra-haikai etosetora" (). Art Gallery C-Square, Chukyo University (Nagoya), October–November 2004. *"Endoresu Nagoya" (). Art Gallery C-Square, Chukyo University (Nagoya),　September–October 2006.Exhibition notice
Chukyo University. Accessed 14 March 2009. *"Hakata yamamori" (). Gallery-58 (Ginza, Tokyo), March 2007.

Akasegawa's essay

*Katsuhiko Otsuji (, i.e. Genpei Akasegawa). ''Raika Dōmei'' (). Tokyo: Kōdansha, 1994. . The title piece of what's billed as a collection of ''shōsetsu'' (stories) is about the Dōmei. *Genpei Akasegawa. ''Raika Dōmei'' (). Chikuma Bunko. Tokyo: Chikuma Shobō, 1999. . A '' bunkobon'' reprint, this time attributed to the author's better known pseudonym.

Books by the Dōmei

All the books listed below are by the three photographers as a group. *''Raika Dōmei: Nagoya shageki!'' (). Nagoya: Fūbaisha, 1996. . Photographs of

. *''Raika Dōmei: Pari kaihō'' (). Tokyo: Alpha-beta, 2001. . Photographs of

. *''Tōkyō kareidosukōpu: Raika Dōmei'' () / ''Tokyo Kaleidoscope.'' Tokyo: Alpha-beta, 2002. . Photographs of

Notes

References

External links

Raika Dōmei
the official website, as archived by the Wayback Machine on 28 December 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Raika Domei 1992 establishments in Japan Cooperatives in Japan Japanese photography organizations