Hope: Thinking Together About the Future of Animals

[Concurrent Event]
Summer Vacation Independent Research Program:
Mysteries of Animals and the Environment

Atsuyuki Oshima (Yakushima macaque and Yakushima deer, Japan)

Born in Nagano Prefecture in 1982. Specializes in photographing wildlife, with a focus on Japanese macaques. Consistently observes the daily lives of animals and captures emotionally resonant moments. Actively involved in research and studies on Yakushima macaques and Yakushima deer on Yakushima Island. He also photographs domestic pets and stray cats in urban environments as a lifelong pursuit, documenting through photography and video the lives of animals that coexist with humans and our society.

Hidehiro Ohtake (Polar bear, Canada)

Born in Kyoto Prefecture in 1975. Graduated from the Faculty of Social Sciences at Hitotsubashi University. In university, he was a member of the outdoor activities club, enjoying stream climbing and trekking in Nepal and Patagonia. Since 1999, has photographed wildlife, travel, and daily life in the Great Lakes Northwoods district of North America. Explores the relationship between humans and nature, and often publishes work in newspapers, magazines, and photo books both in Japan and abroad.

Miho Kagawa (Emperor penguin, Antarctica and sub-Antarctic islands of Oceania)

Born in Tokushima Prefecture. While attending university, studied photography and design at a night vocational school. After studying in the UK, began traveling abroad and has since visited over 50 countries. Became seriously interested in photographing animals after encountering emperor penguins in Antarctica, and began working as a freelance photographer in 2016. With travel and photography as a lifelong pursuit, she documents nature and animals around the world.

Yosuke Kashiwakura (Borneo orangutan, Malaysia)

Born in Yamagata Prefecture in 1978. During university, he was a member of the adventure club and traveled extensively both in Japan and overseas. After working at a publishing company, began working as a photographer at age 26. Specializes in natural landscapes, animals, and environmental conservation. Exhibits works depicting scenes of orangutan rehabilitation on the boundary between civilization and the wild.

Koki Shinoda (Mandrill, Gabon)

Born in Tokyo in 1990. After graduating from the Faculty of Law at Keio University, he worked at an American accounting consultancy. Became captivated by the lives of animals after encountering them firsthand in Africa, and left the company to pursue a career as a wildlife photographer. Began full-time professional activities in 2017. Focuses on capturing the changing faces of the Earth and the emotional lives of animals in regions including Africa, Asia, and the Arctic and Antarctic.

Emi Nakamura (Giant panda, China)

Born in Tokyo. First ventured into the field in the autumn of 1998, where she encountered wild orcas in Norway's Lofoten Islands. Since then, has been enthralled by nature and wildlife, joining photography expeditions to the polar regions, including Antarctica and the Arctic, as well as South and Central America, Africa, the Amazon rainforest, and uninhabited islands for albatross conservation surveys. In recent years, she has actively documented China's endemic wildlife, as well as pandas at conservation facilities in Sichuan Province, Yunnan Province, and other locations. Currently works as a freelance photographer, focusing on the themes of the Earth and animals both in Japan and abroad.

Hiroshi Yamaguchi (Scarlet macaw, Peru)

Born in Saga Prefecture in 1975. Fascinated by insect collecting and tropical fish keeping since childhood, he moved to Ishigaki Island and Iriomote Island in 1993 out of an interest in nature, and spent seven years there, during which he worked part-time at the Ministry of the Environment's Iriomote Wildlife Conservation Center. Studied under photographer Kazuyoshi Miyoshi for four and a half years from 2004 before becoming independent. In 2010, captured the moment when the asteroid explorer Hayabusa returned to Earth in the Woomera Desert, Australia. Around the same time, began major photo projects in the Amazon in South America. Currently engaged in photography focused on Iriomote Island.

Koki Yamada (Bengal tiger, India)

Born in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1979. Inspired by nature documentary programs, he began traveling to see the natural world firsthand. Has photographed a wide variety of wild animals in Antarctica, the Arctic, Alaska, Africa, the Galapagos Islands, and more. In recent years, has continued to document wild tigers in India's Ranthambore National Park with the theme of “people and wildlife moving into the future together.”