Michio Hoshino: NANOOK — Tales of Polar Bears and Ice Floes

Highlights

Michio Hoshino is known not only as a photographer but as a writer of rare talent. His work appears in many school textbooks, making him a familiar figure to children across Japan. This exhibition presents his photographs of polar bears in their silent, beautiful world of snow and ice.
2026 marks the 30th anniversary of Hoshino's death. Of the major wildlife subjects that appear in his work, the polar bear is the only one that has never been collected in a dedicated photobook. This exhibition brings together a large number of previously unseen polar bear photographs.

Images to be exhibited (Selected Works)

Photo by Michio Hoshino ©Naoko Hoshino

About the exhibition

FUJIFILM SQUARE presents NANOOK — Tales of Polar Bears and Ice Floes, an exhibition of photographs by Michio Hoshino, who spent his career documenting the harsh yet beautiful landscapes of the Far North, the animals that inhabit them, and the people who make their home there.

The Arctic land: a realm of snow and ice. Indigenous peoples call the polar bear “Nanook,” a name born of deep respect for the animal's strength and intelligence. Beneath vast skies that shift dramatically with the light of the sun, the exhibition turns its focus to polar bear mothers and cubs on the ice.

The polar bears in Hoshino's photographs have an unmistakable gentleness in their faces.

For the first time, the exhibition brings together all of Hoshino's polar bear photographs, including prints from film found inside a panoramic camera discovered at his home in Alaska in 2022, along with many other previously unseen works. We hope that these images of polar bears in the frozen wilderness will inspire visitors to reflect on the importance of wildlife and the natural environment.

Exhibitor's Profile

©Naoko Hoshino

Website

Michio Hoshino

Photographer born in 1952, Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture.
1968	Enrolled at Keio Senior High School.
1969	Traveled to Los Angeles aboard the emigrant ship Argentina Maru. Spent approximately two months traveling solo across the United States.
1971	Enrolled at Keio University, Faculty of Economics. Joined the university's exploration club.
1973	Spent a summer living with an Inuit family in the village of Shishmaref, Alaska.
1976	Graduated from Keio University. Spent two years as assistant to Kojo Tanaka, a leading wildlife photographer.
1978	Attended an English language school in Seattle in preparation for university entrance exams. Enrolled in the Department of Wildlife Management at the University of Alaska (attended for four years).
June 1986	Received the 3rd Anima Award (for his photobook Grizzly).
1990	Received the 15th Kimura Ihei Photo Award (for his serialized work in Weekly Asahi).
May 1993	Married.
1996	Accompanied a television crew to Kurilskoye Lake on the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia. Died on August 8, 1996, in a brown bear attack.
1999	Received the Photographic Society of Japan Special Award (posthumous).

A book of Hoshino's polar bear photographs, the first of its kind, will be published to coincide with this exhibition.

Website

Supervisor's Profile

Toshio Tsubota

Born 1961, Osaka Prefecture.
Professor Emeritus, Hokkaido University / Professor Emeritus, Gifu University
Honorary Principal Fellow, Melbourne Veterinary School, University of Melbourne
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (wildlife medicine and conservation medicine)
Former Director, Hokkaido University Museum

Website (Hokkaido University Laboratory of Wildlife Biology and Medicine,Gruaduate School of Veterinary Medicine) Website (The Hokkaido University Museum)

Exhibition overview

Title	FUJIFILM SQUARE Photo Exhibition Michio Hoshino: NANOOK — Tales of Polar Bears and Ice Floes [Concurrent Event] Summer Research Project Event: “The Wonder of Polar Bears”
Dates	July 24 (Fri) – August 13 (Thu), 2026
Time	10:00 – 19:00 (Until 14:00 on the final day. Entry is allowed for up to 10 minutes before closing.) Open every day for the full duration of the exhibition.
Venue	FUJIFILM Photo Salon Tokyo (entire space) at FUJIFILM SQUARE
Admission	Free * This exhibition is being held as a corporate MECENAT activity. We are pleased to announce that admission is free to enable more people to attend.
Number of works	Approximately 90 works (scheduled), in color, in a range of print sizes including 1,000 × 3,000mm, 1,000 × 1,500mm, 600 × 900mm, and 400 × 600mm Works shot on film. Works on view are FUJIFILM silver halide prints, known for their outstanding tonal rendering. A Fujifilm Panorama G617 Professional film camera will also be on display. Approximately 10 information panels on wildlife and the natural environment (scheduled).
Organized by	FUJIFILM Corporation
Supported by	Ichikawa City, Ichikawa City Board of Education, Minato City Board of Education, Osaka City Board of Education
In cooperation with	Andrew E. Derocher (Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta; leading polar bear researcher), Nobuhiro Kishigami (Visiting Professor, Kobe College; Specially Appointed Professor and Professor Emeritus, National Museum of Ethnology; Professor Emeritus, SOKENDAI [The Graduate University for Advanced Studies]; cultural anthropologist), Michio Hoshino Office
Supervised by	Toshio Tsubota (Professor Emeritus, Hokkaido University; Professor Emeritus, Gifu University; Doctor of Veterinary Medicine)
Planned by	Crevis Inc.
Traveling to	FUJIFILM Photo Salon Osaka July 16 (Fri) – August 4 (Wed), 2027 (scheduled)

* This exhibition may be cancelled or rescheduled for unforeseen circumstances. Visit FUJIFILM SQUARE online or call for updates.
* We kindly request that you do not send congratulatory flowers.

ACCESS

Summer Research Project Event: “The Wonder of Polar Bears” (free admission)

Talk Events

1. Gallery Talk: “Inside the Photographs of Michio Hoshino” — Wildlife photographer Takayuki Maekawa (General audience)
2. Gallery Talk: “Michio Hoshino and Polar Bears” — Minako Harada, nature program director, NHK Enterprises (General audience)
3. Talk: “Alaskan Wildlife and Wilderness as Seen by Michio Hoshino” — Naoko Hoshino (For elementary and junior high school students)
4. In Conversation: “Lessons from the Polar Bears” — Toshio Tsubota (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine) and photographer Hidehiro Otake (General audience)

Visitor Gift

Quiz: “Learn about Polar Bears and Environmental Change”

1. Gallery Talk: “Inside the Photographs of Michio Hoshino” — Wildlife photographer Takayuki Maekawa (General audience)

Date	July 25 (Sat), 2026, starting at 14:00 (approx. 45 minutes)
Venue	FUJIFILM Photo Salon Tokyo at FUJIFILM SQUARE
Admission	Free
Registration	No reservation required. No capacity limit (standing room only in exhibition area).

2. Gallery Talk: “Michio Hoshino and Polar Bears” — Minako Harada, nature program director, NHK Enterprises (General audience)

Date	July 26 (Sun), 2026, starting at 14:00 (approx. 45 minutes)
Venue	FUJIFILM Photo Salon Tokyo at FUJIFILM SQUARE
Admission	Free
Registration	No reservation required. No capacity limit (standing room only in exhibition area).

3. Talk: “Alaskan Wildlife and Wilderness as Seen by Michio Hoshino” — Naoko Hoshino (For elementary and junior high school students)

Date	August 9 (Sun), 2026 14:00–15:30 (Doors open at 13:30)
Venue	Special venue on the 2nd floor of FUJIFILM SQUARE (seating available) (Please enter through FUJIFILM SQUARE)
Admission	Free
Registration	Advance registration required. Capacity: 150
How to register	Further details will be posted on the website from June onward.

4. In Conversation: “Lessons from the Polar Bears” — Toshio Tsubota (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine) and photographer Hidehiro Otake (General audience)

Date	August 11 (Tue, national holiday), 2026 14:00–15:30 (Doors open at 13:30)
Venue	Special venue on the 2nd floor of FUJIFILM SQUARE (seating available) (Please enter through FUJIFILM SQUARE)
Admission	Free
Registration	Advance registration required. Capacity: 150
How to register	Further details will be posted on the website from June onward.

Visitor Gift:
Quiz: “Learn about Polar Bears and Environmental Change” (General audience)

Content	During the exhibition period, visitors who complete a quiz (designed as a school research project activity) at the venue will receive an original trading card produced exclusively for this exhibition.
Registration	No reservation required. No capacity limit. One card per person; card designs cannot be selected.

* Please note that events are subject to change or cancellation due to circumstances.
* Photographs and video may be taken at events and in the exhibition area for use in FUJIFILM SQUARE communications and publicity.

Event Speaker Profiles

Website Facebook X Instagram

Takayuki Maekawa

Takayuki Maekawa was born in 1969 in Tokyo. After working as an assistant to wildlife photographer Kojo Tanaka, Maekawa began his career as a freelance wildlife photographer in 2000. Working in Japan, North America, Africa, and Asia, and more recently in Central America and Oceania, he photographs wild animals in their natural habitats, and his work appears widely in magazines, photobooks, exhibitions, and elsewhere.
2008: Received the Photographic Society of Japan Newcomer's Award.
2012: Received the Grand Prix at the 1st Nikkei National Geographic Photo Prize.
2021: Bald Eagle (Shin Nihon Shuppansha) recognized by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare as a Specially Recommended Work for Children and received the Child Welfare Cultural Award from the Foundation for the Promotion of Healthy Child Development.
2025: Received the Children and Families Agency Child Welfare Cultural Award for Living Together: The Asiatic Black Bears of the Mountains (Akane Shobo).
2025–2026: Awarded the Medal with Dark Blue Ribbon in two consecutive years.

Website Facebook X Instagram

Minako Harada

Nature program director, NHK Enterprises. Her credits include NHK programs such as Darwin's Amazing Animals and Wildlife. As a student, she studied navigation and aspired to become a ship's captain. Among the programs she has produced, the most unforgettable was a program tracing the footsteps of Michio Hoshino, in which she followed the great caribou migration through the Arctic wilderness of Alaska.

Website

Naoko Hoshino

Representative, Michio Hoshino Office.
After graduating from junior college, Hoshino worked at a bookstore. In 1993, she married photographer Michio Hoshino and began a new life in Alaska. She accompanied him on shoots and shared his time in the field. Following Michio Hoshino's sudden death in 1996, she established the Michio Hoshino Office in 2000 and has since managed his body of work while dividing her time between Japan and Alaska.

Website

Website Instagram

Hidehiro Otake

Born 1975, Kyoto Prefecture. Graduated from Hitotsubashi University, Faculty of Social Sciences. Since 1999, Otake has worked in the Northwoods, the boreal lake district of North America, photographing wildlife, his travels, and the lives of the people he encounters. His work explores the bonds between humans and the natural world. His picture books include In the Northwoods and Looking for Spring: A Canoe Journey (Fukuinkan Shoten).
2018: Received the 7th Tadao Umesao Mountain and Exploration Literary Award for And So I Set Out: The Northwoods, Where It All Began (Asunaro Shobo), a nonfiction account of his path to becoming a photographer and his first journey to the Northwoods.
2021: Received the 40th Domon Ken Award for The Northwoods: The Land That Gives Life (Crevis), his first full-scale photobook and the culmination of 20 years of work.
2024: Received the 66th Child Welfare Cultural Award for his picture book The Watching Woods (Fukuinkan Shoten).

Website Instagram

This exhibition aligns with the initiatives outlined in Goal 13: “Climate Action,” Goal 14: “Life Below Water,” and Goal 15: “Life on Land.” By presenting photographs of animals and the natural world, we hope this exhibition will serve as an opportunity to engage with the SDGs.

[Image]Goal 13: “Climate Action,” Goal 14: “Life Below Water,” and Goal 15: “Life on Land.”

Long-term Goals of the FUJIFILM Group

International long-term targets such as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs^*1) and the Paris Agreement^*2 have been announced recently in the drive to resolve social issues. Expectations concerning the role of companies as players in resolving social issues and building a sustainable society are especially increasing. In view of these developments, the FUJIFILM Group's CSR plan, Sustainable Value Plan 2030 (SVP2030), has set as its long-term goal for 2030 to contribute to achieving the goals for resolving global social issues set by the SDGs, the Paris Agreement, and other frameworks. The FUJIFILM Group believes it can make a significant contribution to 11 of the 17 SDGs listed below, and is actively pursuing specific initiatives toward their achievement.

*1 SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals): Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015, the SDGs set out social issues to be addressed by the international community by 2030, defining 17 goals and 169 targets in areas such as the reduction of poverty, inequalities and injustice, health, education, decent work, and climate and environment.

*2 Paris Agreement: A multilateral international agreement on climate change mitigation adopted at the 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21), held in Paris in 2015. The agreement sets the goal of limiting the rise in global temperatures to less than 2°C above pre-industrial levels.

SDGs to which the FUJIFILM Group principally contributes

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Michio Hoshino: NANOOK
— Tales of Polar Bears and Ice Floes

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Michio Hoshino: NANOOK — Tales of Polar Bears and Ice Floes [Concurrent Event]Summer Research Project Event: “The Wonder of Polar Bears”

About the exhibition

Exhibitor's Profile

Supervisor's Profile

Exhibition overview

Summer Research Project Event: “The Wonder of Polar Bears” (free admission)

1. Gallery Talk: “Inside the Photographs of Michio Hoshino” — Wildlife photographer Takayuki Maekawa (General audience)

2. Gallery Talk: “Michio Hoshino and Polar Bears” — Minako Harada, nature program director, NHK Enterprises (General audience)

3. Talk: “Alaskan Wildlife and Wilderness as Seen by Michio Hoshino” — Naoko Hoshino (For elementary and junior high school students)

4. In Conversation: “Lessons from the Polar Bears” — Toshio Tsubota (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine) and photographer Hidehiro Otake (General audience)

Visitor Gift:Quiz: “Learn about Polar Bears and Environmental Change” (General audience)

Event Speaker Profiles

Long-term Goals of the FUJIFILM Group

EXHIBITION

Michio Hoshino: NANOOK — Tales of Polar Bears and Ice Floes

[Concurrent Event]
Summer Research Project Event:
“The Wonder of Polar Bears”

Visitor Gift:
Quiz: “Learn about Polar Bears and Environmental Change” (General audience)