Raika Dōmei (ライカ同盟, meaning "Leica Alliance") is a group of three Japanese photographers and their associates who worked together on exhibitions and books from 1992 until 2009 or a little later.
[n 1] In 1992, the artist, novelist and old-camera enthusiast Genpei Akasegawa, the artist Yūtokutaishi Akiyama, and the photographer Yutaka Takanashi met at the opening party of an exhibition by the singer Anri Sugano (アンリ菅野) and found that they had happened to bring along a Leica M3, M2 and M4 respectively.
[2] From that time until 2009 or thereabouts they walked around Nagoya, Hakata, Paris, Mie, and Tokyo; and exhibited and published the results.
[3] 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.
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.