Must be glove: the Japan man obsessed with lost gloves

Koji Ishii is the elder statesmen of lost glove photography

Last updated: June 18, 2020 | 09:30

2 MIN READ

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Koji Ishii can't help himself: whenever he sees a lost glove on the streets of his hometown Tokyo, he just has to stop and document it.

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For more than 15 years, the 39-year-old has photographed and meticulously recorded details about thousands of lone gloves on the streets of the Japanese capital and beyond.

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It's a passion, but also, he says, something like a "curse."

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"I live with the constant fear that there might be a glove right around the corner. I can only describe it as a curse," he told AFP.

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He's not alone. Around the world a thriving subculture has popped up documenting lost gloves, with many social media accounts dedicated to them - such as Instagram's Long Lost Gloves and Lost Glove Sightings.

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Hollywood star Tom Hanks has delighted fans with his shots of lone accessories, recently even sharing an image of a sole hospital glove when announcing he'd contracted COVID-19.

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However Ishii is the elder statesmen of lost glove photography.

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His obsession began back in 2004 when he saw a yellow workman's glove dropped near his home and decided to take a photograph with his new flip-phone.

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"I felt a shock like being struck by lightening," he said of the experience.

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In the years since, he has photographed and recorded information about over 5,000 gloves - everything from children's mittens to delicate lady's lace numbers.

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He finds them trampled on streets, stuck in drains, hanging off traffic cones or even washed up on the beach.

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Ishii, who works at a restaurant, doesn't touch the gloves. He simply photographs each one and records details about its location.

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