I went to see Michael, the biographical film about Michael Jackson. The lead role is played by his real-life nephew, Jaafar Jackson. Some people say they could have simply used archival footage of Michael himself, but this was a completely different kind of experience. At first, I thought, “Hmm, he doesn’t really look like him.” But as the story went on, he gradually became Michael. His extraordinary physicality, the sharply refined movements of his body, and the sheer beauty of his life force were overwhelming. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who went home and immediately rewatched This Is It.

The central pillar of this film is Michael’s struggle to break free from his toxic father, Joe Jackson. Joe was an ambitious father who, while working at a steel mill, gave his sons intense training and led them to debut as The Jackson 5. There is no denying that his sharp eye helped bring Michael into the world. But even after his son’s success, he continued to act like the father in charge, trying to control him. I was honestly surprised by the force of Colman Domingo’s performance as Joe, portraying a father who treats his child as a possession. It is remarkable that the family approved such a depiction. That is how unsparing it is.

There are, however, some aspects that made me pause. Isn’t it a little too simple to reduce the life of such an extraordinary superstar to a single axis: conflict with his father? Michael’s complexity, loneliness, and the source of his creativity cannot be fully explained by the father-son relationship alone. Still, this film focuses only on the first half of his life. If a sequel is planned, there is a chance that this simplification will be overturned later.

Seen through the lens of Oyako Day, this film deals directly with a universal yet deeply difficult theme: the parent who discovers a child’s talent, and the child who seeks independence. Where is the line between recognizing talent and controlling it? Where does love end and possessiveness begin? Fuqua’s direction does not turn Joe into a simple villain, but tries to portray him as a human being. The film offers no easy answer. Instead, it asks each viewer to reflect on where that line lies within their own family.

With the energy of its live scenes, the persuasive power of its dance sequences, and above all the feeling that you are encountering Michael for the first time all over again, this is a cinematic experience worth having. Watch it as a father-and-son story, or as a testimony to pop culture history. Either way, it is a film to be experienced in a theater, surrounded by sound.

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Photojournalist Shisei Kuwabara, who has spent many years confronting and documenting various social issues on the ground, has received the 76th Kumanichi Award.

We extend our heartfelt congratulations.

Bruce and I first met Mr. Kuwabara when he was serving as Chair of the International Exchange Committee of the Japan Professional Photographers Society (JPS). Our connection began when he invited me to join the committee as one of its members.

He also once participated as one of the photographers in the Oyako Photo Festival held at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan (FCCJ), where we exhibited his parent-child photographs taken in Minamata.

Thanks in part to Mr. Kuwabara’s warm personality, the members of that International Exchange Committee still gather regularly, exchanging information and maintaining our friendship. He remains one of our cherished colleagues.

We hope he will continue to be active on the front lines of journalism, never overlooking fleeting moments or the changes of our times.

Mr. Kuwabara, congratulations once again.

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Bruce Osborn first met Yuki Shogun nearly forty years ago. Since then, Yuki has dedicated himself to preserving and passing on Japan’s intangible cultural heritage, including Bushido, traditional etiquette, and performing arts.

“Culture is not something to be preserved—it is a living asset that should be passed on to future generations.”

How will this philosophy resonate with the values and aspirations that Oyako Day has cherished over the years?

This promises to be another engaging and thought-provoking conversation.

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Once Upon a Time is a story tracing nearly half a century of Bruce’s life and work: his journey as a photographer, the people he has met along the way, time spent with family, and the path that eventually led to the creation of Oyako Day.

We are pleased to announce that this ongoing story will now be shared on note, with new installments planned about once a month.

The series offers glimpses into Bruce’s life as a photographer, the atmosphere of different eras, cityscapes, the people he encountered, and the surprises, emotions, and discoveries he experienced in Japan.

Vol. 1 is now available.

▼ Once Upon a Time Vol. 1
https://note.com/oyako_day/n/n76d26c9df2b4

We hope you will follow along with us over the coming months.

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The story begins with a single point of divergence.

Set in an alternate timeline where a Soviet cosmonaut steps onto the lunar surface before Apollo 11 arrives in 1969, For All Mankind is Apple TV+’s epic science-fiction drama exploring how history might have unfolded if the Space Race had never ended.

An unrelenting Cold War, the rise of Black astronauts, women walking on the Moon, a female president openly discussing LGBTQ rights, and even North Korea achieving the first landing on Mars—the series boldly reimagines major historical milestones. Yet alongside these sweeping changes, it gives equal weight to intimate human stories: marriages under strain, conflicts between parents and children, friendships, and betrayals. By presenting an alternate history, the show shines a revealing light on our own—asking why events unfolded as they did, and what aspects of human nature remain unchanged. That’s what makes it so compelling.

Another brilliant aspect of the series is its structure: each season advances roughly a decade, allowing viewers to watch the characters age over time. A father who was once an astronaut eventually finds himself quietly watching over the choices made by his children. The passage of time resonates deeply. As the story expands from the Moon to Mars and beyond, its scope grows ever larger. The production design and visual effects are first-rate, from meticulous recreations of the 1960s and ’70s to remarkably realistic spacecraft and spaceflight sequences. The scale of the budget and craftsmanship brings an extraordinary sense of authenticity.

Apple TV+ is also home to another masterpiece, Slow Horses, a British espionage drama starring Gary Oldman. Its story of misfit spies from a failed department becoming entangled in major conspiracies is tense, intelligent, and endlessly entertaining. Apple TV+ may not compete with Netflix in terms of sheer volume of content, but in intellectual depth and visual quality, it is arguably the hottest platform in streaming today.

For All Mankind is currently streaming its fifth season. This remarkable series continues quietly, outperforming countless more celebrated dramas. If you haven’t seen it yet, start with Episode 1 of Season 1 today. And if you’re watching with family, make it at least through Season 2. The story of fathers and children living out their own “space journeys” offers a uniquely rewarding experience for viewers of all generations.

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The Oyako Award was established in 2007 as a way to encourage people to reflect on the meaning of oyako—the bond between parent and child.

Over the years, recipients have included parent-child pairs from a wide range of fields, such as Kinya Sekine and Mari Sekine, Ryoko Moriyama and Naotaro Moriyama, Rentaro Mikuni and Koichi Sato, Tokiko Kato and Yae, and Tetsuya Chiba and Kozo Chiba.

The recipients of the Oyako Award 2025 were photographer Kazutetsu Morishita, who has spent many years documenting atomic bomb survivors, and his daughter Miho Morishita, who continues his work and legacy.

We invite you to cast your vote for the parent-child pair whose story, achievements, or way of life inspires you most.

Vote for the Oyako Award!

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The exhibition will run from May 30 (Saturday) through June 26 (Friday), 2026.

This year, photographers from Japan and around the world have once again contributed works exploring the theme of Oyako—the bond between parent and child.

Afghanistan, Cambodia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Gaza, Iran, Japan, Poland, Syria, Ukraine, the United States, and Vietnam.

Though cultures, religions, environments, and ways of life may differ, each photograph reveals something universal: the time shared between parent and child, and the continuity of life itself.

“Oyako transcends borders, cultures, and religions—it is a universal language.”

At a time when conflict and division continue in many parts of the world, we hope this exhibition will encourage visitors to reflect on the everyday lives of families and the enduring connections that sustain us.

As many families, as many stories.

We hope that the parent-child relationships captured in these photographs will resonate with you in a meaningful way.

Exhibition Dates

May 30 (Sat) – June 26 (Fri), 2026

Venue

Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan (FCCJ)

Opening Hours

Weekdays: 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Saturday: Open from the afternoon
Closed on Sundays and public holidays

Exhibition Details

https://www.fccj.or.jp/exhibition

A reception with participating photographers will also be held on Thursday, June 4.

If you would like to attend, please register by email:

E-mail: staff@oyako.org

We look forward to welcoming you.

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The Tokyo exhibition is being held at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum from May 27 (Wed) through June 5 (Fri).
It will be followed by the Kansai exhibition, taking place at the Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art Annex from June 9 (Tue) through June 14 (Sun).

For details, please visit:
https://www.jps.gr.jp/jpsten2026_session/

Bruce Osborn is also exhibiting as a member of JPS.

His selected work this year comes from the Flying series.

Reverberation

A discarded trash bin,
having fulfilled its purpose,
drifts through the air,
carrying with it the memories of people
and the scent of the city.
The reverberations of urban life
echo into the sky.

Flying is a photographic series that explores the moment of departure for objects created to serve people after their original purpose has come to an end.

If you are in the area, we hope you will stop by and visit the exhibition.

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When I was in the first year of junior high school, my father took me to a packed screening of Elvis on Stage at the Marunouchi Piccadilly. That was my first encounter with Elvis. At the time, I thought I was just going to see a movie about some rock star from the past. What appeared on the screen, however, was something entirely different.

Dressed in a white jumpsuit, drenched in sweat, Elvis sang, electrified the audience, and seized control of the entire room in an instant. More than his extraordinary voice, it was the sheer force of his presence as a star that overwhelmed me. From that day on, I immersed myself in rock, soul, and pop music. Without question, Elvis was the starting point of my lifelong love of music. And that was nearly half a century ago.

Now Elvis has returned—on an IMAX screen, restored in stunning high resolution with extraordinary sound. That alone was enough to move me deeply.

But this film is much more than a collection of concert footage. Through the dynamic editing style of Baz Luhrmann, Elvis’s own voice serves as the narrative thread, weaving together childhood memories, private footage, and archival material as it traces the journey that led him to the grand stages of Las Vegas. This structure—allowing Elvis to tell his own story—is invaluable. It feels almost like a documentary extension of Luhrmann’s earlier film, Elvis, deepening and enriching its perspective.

The archival footage itself is astonishing. Fans may recognize some of the famous scenes, but what truly surprised me was the wealth of previously unseen material. Drawn from fifty hours of unreleased film and meticulously restored in 4K, performance after performance unfolds before us. A fleeting smile, a glance toward the audience, the smallest gesture of movement—all feel startlingly immediate, as though they had been filmed yesterday.

And then there is the sound. The sound is magnificent.

Not only Elvis’s voice, but also the harmonies of The Sweet Inspirations, the guitar work of James Burton and his fellow musicians, and the powerful orchestral arrangements are rendered with remarkable clarity and separation. In the latter half of the concert, as the music leans more heavily into gospel, the performances become overwhelming. It was impossible not to feel chills.

What struck me most was the realization that an Elvis concert was never simply a rock show. It was a vast musical experience that embraced gospel, R&B, country, and showmanship all at once.

The IMAX run may be over, but I already want to see it again in a regular theater.

The Elvis who pulled my thirteen-year-old self into the world of music nearly fifty years ago remains, even now, someone truly special.

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The Home to Which the Noise Returns

There came a day when I stopped going on family trips.
I had been glued to my desk preparing for university entrance exams… or perhaps, I had just come up with that excuse.
The truth was, I simply couldn’t find a reason to go to noisy places with my family anymore.

— In other words, I longed for silence.

My family silently accepted it. Gradually, the number of trips they took without me increased.
They must have sensed that I was yearning for “serenity.”

In my house, silence never truly existed.
The TV was always on, laughter shook the walls, the ventilation fan hummed, and the air conditioner groaned.
Even if I curled up in the furthest corner of the house, the noise would follow me.

— However, when my family was gone, silence would unexpectedly arrive.
A silence so empty it felt almost unnatural.
The body left behind in the stillness experienced a strange sense of liberation.
The air spreading from corner to corner of the room didn’t clear with a “shh” but instead carried a tension, as if it were on the verge of snapping. I tried to merge with it.

I wanted to live in that stillness forever.

…That was my feeling for the first three hours.

Soon, the silence turned into a ringing in my ears, summoning phantom sounds that gnawed at my mind.
I started feeling ill, and in the end, I turned on the TV and played music…

— Ah, please come back.

When the door opened, the noise rushed in.
Laughter bounced through the air, the clinking of dishes echoed, and the TV blared noisily.
I frowned, but deep inside, I felt relieved.

The stillness certainly comforted me.
But it was the noise that connected me to something.

I hear there is something called “OYAKO Day.”
I want to celebrate that day not as a day to give flowers or exchange special words, but simply—
as a day to truly appreciate the value of the noise.

The discomfort of being alone.
The disharmony born from the interactions between parent and child.
That disharmony is my life, my comfort,
— and the place to which I belong.

by Nao Sasaki / age: 22 / Ebina City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan

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