Must be glove: the Japan man obsessed with lost gloves

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.

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.

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

"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.

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.

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.

However Ishii is the elder statesmen of lost glove photography.

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.

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

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.

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

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