Hiroshi Nakamura's signature works evoke the world of the otaku (obsessive fan). His frequent use of the high-school sailor uniform -- often slightly disheveled -- combined with his trainspotting obsession with trains and other forms of locomotion, creates the same kind of atmosphere you can encounter in the back streets of Akihabara.
These recurring motifs dominate "Hiroshi Nakamura: Pictorial Disturbances," a major retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo of the 75-year-old artist's career.
One ink drawing, "F601" (1970), brings it all together in one succinct surreal image. A high-school girl transforms into both a plane and a train, giving the impression that here was someone who spent too much time in his room playing with model kits between making occasional peeks through the curtains at sailor-suited high-school girls walking by outside.