The Sounkyo & Daisetsuzan Photo Museum was built on the site of a closed Sounkyo Elementary School and will permanently exhibit the works of Koetsu Ichinei, a leading photographer of Daisetsuzan who occupies a corner of the Japanese mountain photography world.

While being conscious of the supernatural beauty of the sublime and alpine landscapes pursued by conventional mountain photographers, Mr. Ichinei does not dwell on them unnecessarily, but rather, recalls the distant past when the indigenous Ainu people roamed the mountain range and uses the inner surge that naturally springs from these scenes as the source of his work. He focuses on the "beauty of the flatness" that characterizes the Daisetsuzan Mountains.

We hope you will fully enjoy his 200 works.