Says Bruce: Oyako is the Japanese word for parent and child and I have been taking this series since 1982. It all started with a magazine assignment to photograph punk musicians when I hit on the idea of photographing them with their parents. I thought it would be an amusing way to bring out the differences in lifestyles and fashions between the two generations, but what came back was infinitely more. The pictures revealed so much about family relations that it made me want to continue exploring this theme as a way of looking at Japanese society and the changes it is going through from one generation to the next. I have gone on to take thousands of parent/child portraits and there is no end in sight. In 2003, my wife and I took this project one step further and created Oyako Day social action to celebrate the bond between the parent and child.
Bruce Osborn was born in Southern California and raised on its surf and skateboard culture. He began his photographic career working for the music industry in Los Angeles before moving to Japan in 1980. Bruce’s clientele and recognition has grown to include many renown publications and companies throughout the world. He has received a number of awards and acclaim for his work and has published several photo books. His life-long project is Oyako (parents and children) photo series. In 2003, Bruce and his wife Yoshiko created the Oyako Day social action and in 2014, a documentary film was made about it.
Website: bruceosborn.com
