PURPOSE: To enable the recognition after an object picture is easily found and the position and size are obtained by making a recognition object picture and an unknown picture in a mosaic state and searching/recognizing them.

CONSTITUTION: A recognition object picture input part 1 fetches an object to be a recognition object, for instance, a typical human face picture if the object is human by using a TV camera or a scanner, etc., and inputs it in a rough search part 100. The object picture to be a recognition object is made in a rough mosaic state and rough position and size are found by scanning an unknown picture by using this picture as the feature of the object picture at the time of a search. Next, the object picture to be the recognition object is made in a fine mosaic state and accurate position and size are found by scanning around the already obtained rough position by using this picture. Further, recognition object picture is made in a fine mosaic and the object picture is recognized by performing the matching of the mosaic of the area obtaining the position and size in the already obtained unknown picture and the data which the previous recognition object picture is made in a finer mosaic.