1. A database method comprising: a representative image selection step of selecting a representative image which represents an image content from the image content; a characteristic information extraction step of executing a characteristic information extraction process concurrently with a recording process of the image content; a display processing step of causing a display apparatus to display the representative image; an operation inputting step of allowing a user to input image text information corresponding to the representative image; and a database production step of registering representative characteristic information, extracted from the representative image in the characteristic information extraction step in accordance with a predetermined extraction method, in an associated relationship with the image text information inputted at the operation inputting step to produce a database for acquiring substance character information corresponding to an arbitrary image extracted from an arbitrary image content using characteristic information of the extracted arbitrary image, wherein the representative characteristic information represents a block of images including images similar to each other.