Michio Hoshino

Michio Hoshino (星野 道夫, Hoshino Michio, September 27, 1952 – August 8, 1996) was a Japanese-born nature photographer. He originally hailed from Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture. Called one of the most accomplished nature photographers of his era and compared to Ansel Adams, Hoshino specialized in photographing Alaskan wildlife until he was killed by a brown bear while on assignment in Kurilskoye Lake, Russia in 1996.

Lynn Schooler's book The Blue Bear relates the story of the author's friendship with Hoshino, a man he admired greatly for his skill as a photographer and his humanity. Schooler is a wilderness guide who became a photographer in his own right under Hoshino's tutelage. Another book, The Only Kayak by Kim Heacox, describes Hoshino's journeys to Glacier Bay as well as his own close personal friendship with Hoshino.

A memorial totem pole was raised in Sitka, Alaska, on August 8, 2008 (the 12-year anniversary of Hoshino's death), in honor of his work. Relatives and witnesses from Japan, including his widow, Naoko, attended the ceremony. Hoshino's wife and son survive him.

Michio's interest in Alaska began at the age of 19, when he bought a photo book showing the village of Shishmaref. Wanting to see it for himself, he sent a letter to the village's mayor, who replied 6 months later inviting him to visit. The following summer, he spent 3 months there, taking photographs and helping to catch fish.

• Grizzly. San Francisco: Chronicle, 1987. ISBN 0-87701-431-0.
• The Grizzly Bear Family Book. North-South Books, 1997. ISBN 1-55858-701-2. For young readers.
• Hoshino's Alaska. San Francisco: Chronicle, 2007. ISBN 978-0-8118-5651-5.
• Moose. San Francisco: Chronicle, 1988. Hardback ISBN 0-87701-503-1. Paperback ISBN 0-87701-494-9.

• Interview with Lynn Schooler about The Blue Bear
• Gaia Symphony Documentary series (Japanese production).