The "Hokkaido Heritage" are tangible and intangible treasures of Hokkaido that we want to pass on to the next generation. The winning entries have been announced for the "Hokkaido Heritage Photo & Tanka Challenge 2025-2026," a contest that invited photos and tanka (short poems) on the theme of the 74 Hokkaido Heritages. These masterpieces provide an opportunity to rediscover the charm of Hokkaido. Please enjoy the allure of Hokkaido Heritage as expressed through photography and tanka poetry.

Grand Prize

Ryo Shinkawa / Nostalgia

■Subject / Location & Time
Hokkaido's Horse Culture (Ban'ei horses, Hidaka thoroughbreds, Hokkaido Washu horses, etc.) / Ayamegahara Primeval Flower Garden, September 2023

■Artist's Comment
A beautiful horse's back, in a break in the mist.

■Judge's Comment
I found this to be a very beautiful photograph that tells a story. The misty cape scenery, the late summer atmosphere, and the dignified back of the horse are all wonderful. It sparks the imagination, making one wonder what this horse was thinking and what expression it had as it looked upon this scene.

Runner-up

・Ryoichi Kurata / Captivated by the Rays of Light

■Subject / Location & Time
Notsuke Peninsula and Utasebune Boats / Notsuke Peninsula, February 2025

■Artist's Comment
I visited the Notsuke Peninsula in winter. As the sun began to set, I was captivated by the rays of light pouring through a gap in the clouds, and there was a lone male Ezo deer, seemingly just as captivated as I was.

■Judge's Comment
I was drawn into this beautiful image, which is so dramatic it feels like a scene from a movie. While the overall tone is subdued and almost monochrome, the light has a warm, soft gradation, creating a piece that feels full of premonition. The Ezo deer is also a very effective element.

・Tadahiro Okutani / Protecting the Port for a Century

■Subject / Location & Time
Otaru Port and its Breakwater / Otaru Port, November 2025

■Artist's Comment
On a day when the waves crashed violently, the port, protected by the breakwater, quietly reflected the madder red sky.

■Judge's Comment
The painting-like, mysterious, and dreamlike atmosphere is very impressive, and I felt the skillful composition was put to great use. At first glance, the dividing line where the boat seems to float is the breakwater, and it's interesting how the impression changes once you realize the sea is different on the other side.

Grand Prize

Utsugido

■Subject
Noboribetsu Onsen Jigokudani (Hell Valley)

■Artist's Comment
I was inspired by the motifs of demons and iron clubs that were common in Hell Valley.

■Judge's Comment
It's true, the demons of Noboribetsu Onsen are red and they do hold their iron clubs as if dragging them. The leap from that shared understanding to the final seven syllables, "I want to see you," was unexpected and amazing. I'd love to ask the author why they wrote "I want to see you" in hiragana.

Runner-up

・Ito

■Subject
Kiritappu Wetland

■Artist's Comment
It was the coldest place I visited on my trip to Hokkaido.

■Judge's Comment
I thought this was a beautiful poem, like a single photograph, with a very nice rhythm. The cold of Kiritappu seems to seep out from the poem. Since it doesn't explicitly state emotions, it allows the reader to imagine, which I also found to be a good quality.

・Akemi Nakagawa

■Subject
Drift Ice and the Garinko-go Icebreaker Ship

■Artist's Comment
I rode the Garinko-go with my family a long time ago. I wrote this remembering the feeling that a new, unknown world was being carved open as the ship broke through the pure white drift ice.

■Judge's Comment
I found it interesting that it's not "Where on Earth?" but "Where on the globe?" The choice of the onomatopoeia "gari-gori" (a mix of crunching and grinding) instead of just "gari-gari" or "gori-gori" was also very well done.

・Masaaki Hokari / Ski Trace

■Subject / Location & Time
Skiing and the Niseko Mountain Range / Near Goshiki Onsen, Niseko Town, January 2021

■Artist's Comment
The ski tracks on Mt. Niseko Moiwa were beautiful.

・Motohiro Shinmura / Traversing the Geometric City

■Subject / Location
Streetcar / Sapporo, December 2025

■Artist's Comment
The geometric lines of the crosswalk and the beautiful curve of the streetcar advancing upon it were stunning, so I captured the moment it crossed the intersection.

・Shinobu Maekawa / Freezing and Passing

■Subject / Location & Time
Ishikari River / Tobetsu Town, Ishikari City, January 2025

■Artist's Comment
On the half-frozen river surface, the hesitation of the season is etched. The railway tracks cutting across it quietly indicated that only time moves forward.

・Shunto / The Sun Has Witnessed: The Epoch of the Ishikari River

■Subject / Location & Time
Ishikari River / Hamanasunooka Park, October 2025

■Artist's Comment
The evening view of the Ishikari River basin from Hamanasunooka Park.
In this place, the sun has watched over the long epoch of history, from the primeval landscape before development to the activities of people, and into the present. I believe the Ishikari River, as a major artery of Hokkaido's development, has supported the lives of many and nurtured culture.
At this Hokkaido Heritage site, I captured the history of Ishikari, etched alongside the sun, as a fleeting moment of light.
This sun is a "witness of time" that knows the Ishikari River.

・Kohei Kawasumi / Quietly

■Subject / Location & Time
Hokkaido's Shujikan (Prisons: Kabato, Sorachi, Kushiro, Abashiri, Tokachi) / Obihiro City, February 2025

■Artist's Comment
The Tokachi Prison Oil Storage, which still remains in Midorigaoka Park, quietly blends into the park's scenery.

・Yoshiko Yamauchi / The Green Season

■Subject / Location & Time
Sapporo Soft Stone / Ishiyama Ryokuchi Park, May 2024

■Artist's Comment
The Negative Mound at Ishiyama Ryokuchi Park at a moment when the rain seemed about to stop. Sunny days are nice, but viewing the Sapporo Soft Stone in this kind of weather also has its own charm. I took the photo incorporating the season into the puddle.

・Ryoichi Kurata / Winter Narawara

■Subject / Location & Time
Notsuke Peninsula and Utasebune Boats / Notsuke Peninsula, February 2025

■Artist's Comment
My first visit to the Notsuke Peninsula. The winter Narawara (withered oak forest) was a strange and wonderful sight.

・Noriyuki Hatahata / Galaxy Pouring onto the Lake Surface

■Subject / Location & Time
Lake Mashu / Lake Mashu, June 2025

■Artist's Comment
The galaxy illuminated Lake Mashu in the middle of the night, as if putting on a show as the Milky Way.

・Takato Suzuki / The Pine that Guides to the Literature Museum

■Subject / Location & Time
Miura Ayako Literature Museum and Foreign Tree Species Sample Forest / Asahikawa City, January 2026

■Artist's Comment
It's a space away from the hustle and bustle, where a quiet time flows through the seasons.

・Ikutaro Sasaki / Misty Hills

■Subject / Location & Time
Periglacial Landforms of the Soya Hills / Soya Hills Wind Farm, Wakkanai City, August 2025

■Artist's Comment
This is a scene of the setting moon at dawn and the wind turbines of the wind farm on the Soya Hills. Morning mist had formed in the hollows of the hills, creating a fantastical atmosphere.

・Reiki Hirono / Returning

■Subject / Location & Time
Former JNR Shihoro Line Concrete Arch Bridges / Lake Nukabira, February 2026

■Artist's Comment
I photographed the Taushubetsu River Bridge, which has completed its service, as it returns to the earth under the force of majestic nature.

・Ren Tsukahara / To the Place of Return

■Subject / Location & Time
Salmon Culture / Sakura Falls, Kiyosato Town, July 2025

■Artist's Comment
A single salmon swimming up the rapids. I captured its strength to connect life to the future even in the harshness of nature, along with the spray of water.

・Mizue Tsuyama / Path of the Gods

■Subject / Location & Time
Notsuke Peninsula and Utasebune Boats / Chashikotsu, Shibetsu Town, January 2026

■Artist's Comment
Notsuke Bay is famous for its sailing boats (utasebune) used for shima-ebi shrimp fishing in spring and autumn, but in winter it freezes over. As I looked at the frozen surface, I saw a path of overlapping ice that continued like a mountain range into the distance. Could it be an Omiwatari (a path of the gods)? This divine path, seen in the harsh cold, was very mystical.

・adnao708 / Quiet Cherry Blossoms

■Subject / Location & Time
Fukuyama (Matsumae) Castle and its Temple Town / Matsumae Castle, April 2024

■Artist's Comment
The cherry blossoms blooming quietly around the samurai residences were very beautiful and lovely.

・Masaaki Hokari / Sunset at the River Mouth

■Subject / Location & Time
Ishikari River / Near Ishikari Lighthouse, April 2021

■Artist's Comment
On a spring evening, the reflection of the setting sun was beautiful.

・Lucano

■Subject
Otaru's Railway Heritage

■Artist's Comment
A poetic expression that overlaps Hokkaido's nature with an "inner journey."

・DAZZA

■Subject
Townscape of Hakodate's Western District

■Artist's Comment
I remembered the beauty of the Red Brick Warehouses on the opposite shore as seen from Nanaehama.

・Bukuma Tajima

■Subject
Ishikari River

■Artist's Comment
As a child, I vaguely sang of the "Ishikari River" as part of my school song lyrics. As an adult, I've come to strongly feel its presence and appreciate it as a part of the landscape.

・Ko Inokuchi

■Subject
Wakkanai Port North Breakwater Dome

■Artist's Comment
Looking at the shadows, I thought it would be fun to hop through them like hopscotch, though you'd need long legs and great jumping power to do it.

・Saki Oda

■Subject
Ainu Language Place Names

■Artist's Comment
When friends from Honshu visit, they're impressed that I can read Hokkaido's place names, so I can't help but read them proudly. I'm proud that these place names are derived from the Ainu language using phonetic characters, and I want to preserve them for the future.

・Ayaka Honda

■Subject
Goryokaku and the Remains of the Battle of Hakodate

■Artist's Comment
Coming from Hino and being familiar with the Shinsengumi, I viewed Goryokaku not in terms of victory or defeat, but as a "trace left by ambition." Through the scene of spring cherry blossoms embracing the unfulfilled ideals without judgment, I expressed a quiet way of facing history.

・Yayoi Mita

■Subject
Streetcar

■Artist's Comment
I feel nostalgic for the streetcars of Hakodate.

・Takayuki Yamaki

■Subject
Streetcar

■Artist's Comment
I expressed how the streetcar connects the everyday scenery with the pulse of the city.

・Hideo Watanabe

■Subject
Hokkaido's Horse Culture (Ban'ei horses, Hidaka thoroughbreds, Hokkaido Washu horses, etc.)

■Artist's Comment
I wrote about the heart of the ranch, which wishes for the happiness of the horses that are born, raised, and return there.

・Mayu Takeda

■Subject
Sorachi Coal Mine Related Facilities and Lifestyle Culture

■Artist's Comment
I wrote this remembering when I went to the Coal Mine History Village on a school trip in elementary school and took the elevator down to the underground tunnels.

・Rikiya Oizumi

■Subject
Nikka Whisky Yoichi Distillery

■Artist's Comment
I expressed that Nikka Whisky has a unique atmosphere and flavor that can't be found anywhere else.

・A Souvenir Filled with Kindness

■Subject
Moor Onsen (Moor Hot Spring)

■Artist's Comment
My grandmother, who runs a soba shop, often has rough hands. A senior colleague, concerned for her, brought her hand cream from the Moor Onsen. I submitted this hoping to express the kindness of a regular customer through the warmth of this natural lotion.

・Ya-kun

■Subject
Chishima-zakura (Kurile cherry)

■Artist's Comment
The Chishima cherry blossoms bloom beautifully, now as they did in the past.

・Yusuke Kida

■Subject
Hokkaido Ramen

■Artist's Comment
It reminded me of when I was in a long-distance relationship.

・Minato Sakimoto

■Subject
Streetcar

■Artist's Comment
I expressed the sadness of parting with my mother. When you can still see them, you want to keep waving.

Erika Kusumi (Photographer, Artist)

General Comments for the "Photo Division"

There were many photos with meticulously crafted compositions, making them a pleasure to view. This time, I selected works that went a step beyond the beauty of the Hokkaido Heritage itself, choosing pieces that made me feel a story. However, there were many other heart-moving photos among those not selected.

For photos taken at the same location, similar compositions were sometimes seen. By changing the season, time of day, or perspective, and by exploring uncharted territories, I am certain you can achieve a more unique expression. Let's continue to photograph this beautiful Hokkaido together!

Yuya Okamoto (Skinhead Camera: Comedian, Tanka Poet)

General Comments for the "Tanka Division"

Thank you for the unexpectedly large number of over 600 tanka submissions. I enjoyed reading them all. I prioritized selecting those who were able to create their own unique poems, but I believe a different judge would have come to a different result. I hope this contest will be an opportunity for continued interest in both tanka and Hokkaido Heritage.