Eikoh Hosoe (1933–2024) was a central figure of postwar Japanese photography. Rejecting straightforward documentary, he used the body, theatrical staging and stark black-and-white contrast to explore sexuality, death and identity. His landmark books Barakei, made with Yukio Mishima, and Kamaitachi, with dancer Tatsumi Hijikata, fused photography, performance and literature. Darwin selects Hosoe for images that remain physical, unsettling and deliberately resistant to realism.
