Start-Up Heralbony Working for Artists with Intellectual Disabilities

One of the “art rooms” at the Hotel Mazarium in Morioka, Iwate. Eight of the hotel’s 38 guest rooms are decorated with designs by Heralbony artists. The artists receive ¥500 for each night of a guest’s stay. (© Miwa Noriaki)

Matsuda Fumito. (© Miwa Noriaki)

The company name comes from a random word that their brother Shōta wrote in his notebook as a child. (© Miwa Noriaki)

Heralbony art neckties. The high quality of needlework and weaving technology is obvious. (© Miwa Noriaki)

Art by Kudō Midori, contracted with Heralbony, was used for a bus wrap. (© Miwa Noriaki)

Heralbony’s shop in a Morioka department store (currently closed for refurbishment and set to reopen in December 2024). (©  Miwa Noriaki)

Another “art room” at Morioka’s Hotel Mazarium. (© Miwa Noriaki)

Heralbony artist Kinugasa Taisuke painted at an event held in a Kyoto department store. People were astonished at the speed at which he worked. (Courtesy Heralbony)

The late Yaegashi Kiyoshi in front of his artwork, used to wrap JR Hanamaki Station. (Courtesy Heralbony)

Heralbony art team member Tamaki Honoka (right) shares her hope that the Heralbony Art Prize can provide a gateway to success for artists. (© Miwa Noriaki)