Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale The Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale is one of the largest international art festivals in the world, as well as the pioneer of regional art festivals in Japan. It has provided an alternative way of exploring satoyama by using artwork as the guide. The Echigo-Tsumari Art Field has received fame as an innovator in building community through art, both within Japan and internationally.

The Echigo-Tsumari region has been cultivating rice under the harsh conditions imposed by heavy snowfall since the Jomon era (10,00–300 B.C.). Local people have been exploring the inseparable relationship between human beings and nature while managing their tight-knitted communities. This is the origin of the concept that “human beings are part of nature,” which has become the overarching concept for every installation. Regional development in the Echigo Tsumari region is advanced with the aim of presenting a model for how people can coexist with nature.