Brothers in Japan Spotlight Artists with Intellectual Disabilities; Hope to Change Society’s Perception of People with Disabilities

By Wakako Takeuchi / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

12:00 JST, March 7, 2025

“Radiate your color.”

This is the mission of Heralbony Co., a Morioka-based planning company that handles artworks by artists with disabilities.

The company was founded by co-CEOs, Takaya and Fumito Matsuda, both 33. The twin brothers have an older brother, Shota, 36, who has autism, and wanted to change society’s perception of people with disabilities.

Growing up, Takaya and Fumito felt uncomfortable about people pitying their brother. As they got older, they wanted to work with people with intellectual disabilities, leading them to start their company in 2018.

Heralbony is a word coined by Shota. When he was 7 years old, Shota repeatedly wrote the word in katakana in many notebooks. After Takaya and Fumito grew up, they found the notebooks in their parents’ house. They searched for the word online but found nothing. When they asked Shota about it, he just said, “I don’t know!”

“The word remained in my heart for a long time,” Takaya said.

The twins decided to make it the name of their company as they were determined to show that something that seemed meaningless had value.

Operating various businesses

Currently, the company has contracts with about 240 artists, mostly those with intellectual disabilities, and about 50 welfare facilities. It owns and manages the copyrights of more than 2,000 artworks and operates various businesses.

The company uses the art to produce and sell such items as clothes and general goods, and collaborates with other companies to plan and propose designs for products. A portion of the proceeds is paid to the artist as a royalty. The amount of royalties increased 15-fold over the last three years, and some artists earned nearly ¥10 million, according to the company.

Through their business, the brothers have seen many changes.

“An artist with severe intellectual disabilities is now recognized and respected by people in the same community,” Fumito said.

A teenage artist used the money she earned with her art to take her family on a trip to Miyakojima Island, something she had dreamed of for a long time.

Takaya spoke about his brother Shota and said: “He has more opportunities to go out through activities with Heralbony, and I feel like my family is happier than before. My brother is popular among Heralbony fans and is often asked for photos [at events].”

To expand their business worldwide, they founded the company’s first overseas subsidiary in Paris in the autumn of 2024. They aim to get their artworks exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art, New York City, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in the future.

Special Shibuya exhibition

Heralbony’s special exhibition “Paradiscape” featuring its artists is being held at the Sky Gallery, an indoor observation corridor on the 46th floor of Shibuya Sky in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, through March 31.

The following is an excerpt from an interview with Takaya and Fumito about the special exhibition.

The Yomiuri Shimbun: What do you think about having a special exhibition in Shibuya?

Takaya: It means a lot to us, and we really appreciate this opportunity. Since it’s an area where many foreign tourists visit, I hope people around the world will know about Heralbony.

Yomiuri: Which artworks do you like?

Fumito: Emotionally, I’m attached to Haruka Asano’s “Hyoka” (“Evaluation”), which is currently being exhibited and won the Grand Prize at Heralbony Art Prize 2024. I feel the breath of life from this artwork, which shows coral reefs releasing eggs, drawn on a komebukuro [rice packaging made from kraft paper].

Yomiuri: What do you find attractive about Heralbony’s artists?

Fumito: They genuinely enjoy the act of drawing. They repeat the motion many times and keep doing it, creating a certain kind of beauty. They keep drawing in situations in which people without disabilities may think, “Why don’t they stop drawing now?” Once they go beyond a certain point, there comes a moment in which an incredible piece of work emerges, something that could disrupt the preestablished harmony of the brain.

Takaya and Fumito Matsuda

Grown up in Morioka, the twin brothers founded Heralbony in 2018. Before starting their company, Takaya worked as a planner for Orange and Partners Co., a company that is led by President and CEO Kundo Koyama, who is a radio and television script writer as well as a screenwriter. Meanwhile, Fumito worked for a general contractor and was involved in the reconstruction of areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake. Takaya is in charge of creative businesses at the Tokyo branch and Fumito in charge of domestic businesses at the Morioka headquarters.