"HERALBONY TONE FROM MUSEUM ~Listening Museum~" is a podcast that started this spring and focuses on the artists under contract with the welfare experimental unit Heralbony.

Sara Ogawa, an actor, filmmaker, and writer, and Takaya Matsuda, CEO of HERALBONY, will be the interviewers. As they listen carefully to the art, they will touch upon the personality and life story of this "unique artist" that can be seen beyond his work.

The fourth guest is Takuma Hayakawa, a unique artist. Hayakawa's works have won numerous awards and are filled with a concentrated love that overwhelms those who see them.

Takaya Matsuda (hereafter, Takaya): Today we bring you an artist called Takuma Hayakawa from Matsusaka City, Mie Prefecture. Sara, first of all, here is Hayakawa's work. Can you guess what is depicted?

Takuma Hayakawa "Dancing Passing Train"

Sara Ogawa (hereinafter, Ogawa): It's amazing! There are so many things drawn with incredible precision, but this is a train, right?

Takaya: That's exactly right! The trains are crisscrossing the city in every direction, and you can kind of see their outlines amongst them, can't you?

Ogawa: Ah! If you look closely, you can see the shape of a person!

Takaya: I agree with what you say. There are outlines of people spread throughout the painting. There is a man in the middle, and the people on either side of him look like women, I think.

Ogawa: I can't help but wonder who this person is and who is around them.

Takaya: Does it feel like the men are shaking hands with the women next to them?

Ogawa: Yes, their hands are clasped together.

Takaya: That's right. The man in the middle is actually Hayakawa himself, and the person shaking his hand is actually a female idol.

Ogawa: Idol?

Takaya: Yes. He has a strong love for trains and idols, and he appears in his paintings, shaking hands with idols while surrounded by trains. He paints these kinds of works with incredible precision. We often exhibit Hayakawa's works at our contemporary art gallery, and they are sometimes sold for hundreds of thousands of yen. We are pleased to invite such a highly acclaimed artist to our exhibition today.

Ogawa: Amazing. You're an artist at Kibo no Sono in Mie Prefecture, right?

Takaya: That's right. Today we are joined by Mr. Murabayashi, the facility director of "Kibo no Sono." "Kibo no Sono" is a welfare facility located in the middle of a long rice paddy road, where Matsusaka beef is grown, and Mr. Hayakawa is employed in the studio there.

Ogawa: So, today we will have Takuma Hayakawa and Murabayashi appear online! Hello!

Hayakawa-san: Hello!

Facility Director Murabayashi: Hello!

Takaya: Thank you very much.

Hayakawa: Thank you.

Ogawa: I've just had the chance to look at Hayakawa's work, and he really loves trains and idols!

Facility Director Murabayashi: Do you like it?

Hayakawa-san: Yes! I love it.

Takaya: I love it.

Hayakawa: I love trains.

Takaya: That's great! Why did you become interested in trains?

Hayakawa-san: I want to see trains! There's the Romance Car Museum!

Takaya: Romancecar! In fact, JR East is a shareholder of HERALBONY.

Ogawa: Oh!

Takaya: So, I wanted to ask Hayakawa if he could draw a picture of JR East's trains. But then he told me that he also loves other railway companies. There were other competitors, so I couldn't ask him at the time. I'm sorry that my selfish desires were showing (laughs).

Ogawa: That shows how much you love trains in general. Hayakawa-san, what do you like about trains?

Hayakawa: On the train?

Facility Director Murabayashi: Yes. Why do you like trains?

Hayakawa: (emphatically) I want to go to the Romancecar Museum.

Murabayashi: Hayakawa-san also loves traveling.

Ogawa: Wow!

Facility Director Murabayashi: Maybe they want to go to places they've never been before, or see things they've never seen before. I think they have a really strong sense of curiosity, and the train is what takes them to those places.

Takaya: You and your mother are always going out to different places. Thank you for coming to the HERALBONY exhibition in Tokyo the other day.

Ogawa: I was curious when I saw this painting of a train. How do you usually draw?

Director Murabayashi: When I want to draw something, I first draw the outline and then fill it in with trains. In the end, I end up with a person made of the train, or a landscape made of trains.

Ogawa: Wow, so that's how you draw it.

Facility Director Murabayashi: You draw the shape of the idol you want to draw, your favorite person, or a landscape you saw while traveling, and then fill it in with trains.

Ogawa: So you're just filling it with things you like, that's great. By the way, who is your favorite idol?

Hayakawa-san: Idols? Do you like idols? Which idols?

Facility Director Murabayashi: Who is your favorite idol?

Hayakawa-san: Which idol? Which idol? Nogizaka46.

Takaya: Who is your favorite out of them?

Hayakawa: Yes there are.

Murabayashi: Who?

Hayakawa-san: (looking precious) It's Tsutsui Ayame-chan!

Takaya: Wow! Do you go to events too?

Facility Director Murabayashi: When there is an exhibition in Tokyo, we sometimes go to the AKB48 Theater in Akihabara.

Takaya: Come to think of it, when a TV station was covering the exhibition at Nagoya Mitsukoshi, Hayakawa was asked "Where would you like to go if your work sells?" and he replied, "I'd like to go to a handshake event!"

Ogawa: Wow!

(Left) "Pose with lots of passing trains" (Right) "Dancing while a train passes by"

Takaya: Recently, an original drawing was sold on Heralbony for about 1.8 million yen. Hayakawa-san, did you do anything with that money?

Facility Director Murabayashi: You're making money, right?

Everyone: (laughs)

Muramatsu: What are you using it for? Did you go somewhere? Traveling?

Hayakawa: (in a bouncy tone) Romancecar Museum.

Takaya: I absolutely love the Romancecar Museum! I'd like to go too.

Hayakawa: I love it.

Takaya: That's nice! Where is it?

Hayakawa-san: The Romance Car Museum? It's at Ebina Station.

Ogawa: Have you ever ridden the Romancecar, Hayakawa-san?

Hayakawa: Romancecar?

Facility Director Murabayashi: Yes, there is. Actually, he rode with me! He was so happy and excited at the time. I think it was when we went to a small private train museum in Machida.

Hayakawa: Machida? Train?

Facility Director Murabayashi: Oh, Hayakawa-san, you seem nervous.

Ogawa: Oh, Hayakawa-san, are you okay?

Hayakawa: ...Yes!

Murabayashi-san: Hehe. That's because Ogawa-san is cute. Okay, then please look at my sister's face (laughs).

Ogawa: Ahahaha!

Takaya: Maybe one day you could shake hands with Sara in person, with your mother by your side.

Ogawa: That's true. I'd love for you to come to the studio.

Hayakawa: (happily) A handshake? A handshake event?

Ogawa: Yes! Thank you very much (laughs).

Ogawa: Mr. Hayakawa, have you been drawing like this for a long time?

Hayakawa-san: Since when? Atelier? Since when? ...When I was in elementary school. First grade.

Director Murabayashi: It seems that I had been drawing since I was old enough to understand. My elementary school teacher brought me to the atelier because I was very good at it and had been drawing for a long time. I think that was when I was in the third grade.

Takaya: I see.

Ogawa: Were you drawing trains and other things you liked even then?

Facility Director Murabayashi: Yes, we used to draw trains and animals with watercolors on drawing paper.

Takaya: So it was watercolors! It must have been a different worldview from now.

Murabayashi: Yes, they also drew flowers.

Ogawa: Wow, that's wonderful. By the way, what do you use to draw these days?

Murabayashi Forest Facility Director: What are you using now?

Hayakawa: What do you use? ...Oil painting.

Ogawa: Wow, that's amazing.

Takaya: I have seen Hayakawa-san's early works, and although his style is the same now as it was back then, I feel that his drawing skills have improved a lot. When you first met Hayakawa-san, how did you perceive him?

Director Murabayashi: When he first came to the studio, he said, "I'm going to draw my memories of going skiing with my family," and he drew a scene of the three of us on a ski lift from directly above on a sheet of paper. In other words, it was a bird's-eye view of the round top of the head and then the shoulders, which I thought was amazing. He drew the scenery he was in, not the perspective he saw.

Ogawa: Indeed, in your current work you exist within the world of trains. The scenery you always see may be a little unique and bird's-eye view.

Facility Director Murabayashi: That's right. At first, I drew idol girls and trains separately, but about 10 years ago, I started drawing the idols on the trains themselves, mixing together the things I like.

Ogawa: I see. Hayakawa-san, how do you spend your day?

Murabayashi Facility Director: Hayakawa-san, what time will you be picking us up?

Hayakawa: Pick-up? ...Bus pick-up? ...Kibo no Sono? 9:15.

Facility Director Murabayashi: Yes. First, I pick them up in the morning and do light work at the facility, like peeling black garlic. After that, I draw pictures until 3pm.

Takaya: Mr. Hayakawa's works are often around 2 meters in size, and it seems that it sometimes takes him about a year to complete one piece.

Ogawa: It certainly would take a considerable amount of time to draw so many trains in detail.

Ogawa: Is this person Mr. Ota?

Takaya: That's right. Hayakawa-san drew it for me and Ota-san was really happy about it. Hayakawa-san, do you remember Ota-san?

Hayakawa-san: Ota-san? I know you!

Ogawa: What a great smile!

Takaya: In past interviews, you introduced me as your friend, Ota-san. However, Ota-san is currently hospitalized with appendicitis. He is about to be released from the hospital, so if you have any thoughts, I would be grateful if you could send me your condolences.

Facility Director Murabayashi: Ohta-san, I hear you're sick. Can you say something to him?

Hayakawa-san: Ota-san? You're sick, aren't you? Ah, that's too bad...

Everyone: Bursts into laughter

Takaya: It's so light! That's nice! I think he'll be really happy. He also sent me a selfie from his hospital room, so I'll send it to you later.

Facility Director Murabayashi: In the preliminary survey we conducted for this interview, you wrote "Ota Yunosuke" in the section "What is your favorite thing?"

Ogawa: The smile on your face when Ota's name was mentioned was amazing! I can tell you really love him.

Takaya: On the back of the picture you gave to Ota-san at her wedding, it said "Congratulations on your marriage," in your handwriting, I believe. It also said "Ota-san in a passing diorama."

Hayakawa: Title.

Ogawa: The title? I see!

Takaya: Wow, you're both really lucky. Ota too.

Ogawa: I hear you have received many awards. You have participated in countless group exhibitions both in Japan and abroad, including in Tokyo, Aichi, Mie, Germany, Spain, China, and Vietnam. For example, in 2006 you received an Encouragement Award at the Museum of Art in your hometown, Matsusaka City.

Takaya: That's right. If you look at his award history, you'll understand that he hasn't just won awards for exhibitions aimed at people with disabilities. He's an artist who is recognized purely for his artworks, so if you search for "Hayakawa Heralbony" or something similar, you'll find many of his works, so I'd be happy if you could take a look.

Ogawa: It's amazing that people from all over the world are participating. Hayakawa-san, how did you feel when you received the award?

Facility Director Murabayashi: You've won quite a few awards, haven't you? Like the Excellence Award at the Mie Prefectural Exhibition.

Hayakawa: Excellence Award.

Facility Director Murabayashi: You also won the Minister of Tourism Award at the Art Para Fukagawa open exhibition.

Hayakawa: I got it.

Murabayashi: How did you feel when you won the award?

Hayakawa-san: When you catch it? I wonder.

Facility Director Murabayashi: It's not a question of what to do. (laughs)

Hayakawa-san: How do you feel? I'm happy.

Ogawa: I sometimes work at a nursery school (Note: Ogawa obtained her nursery school qualification after directing one of her own films), and there are a lot of children there who love trains. I imagine many people would be excited to have one of Hayakawa's paintings in their home.

Takaya: That's true. What kind of people do you want to see your paintings?

Facility Director Murabayashi: What kind of people would you like to see this?

Hayakawa-san: Who do you want to see this? ...It's a painting I did.

Facility Director Murabayashi: This is a picture I drew. Who would you like to see it?

Hayakawa-san: Who do you want to see it? ... (emphatically) Ota-san!

Everyone: Ooooh!!

Takaya: Oh, Ota! Thank you for your wonderful answer, it's like it was written in a script. Ota would be happy too!

Ogawa: We hope that Mr. Ota will recover quickly so that he can come and see his work at the venue.

Takaya: That's true. So, Hayakawa-san and Murabayashi-san, thank you so much for talking to us today.

Hayakawa and Murabayashi: Thank you very much.

Ogawa: Thank you very much! I would be very happy if you continue to take the train to many different places, meet your idols, and draw some wonderful pictures for me.

Takaya: Next time, please come and see Sara. At JWAVE in Roppongi Hills.

Hayakawa-san: Roppongi Hills? I want to go. Roppongi Hills. Tokyo!

Ogawa: I'm looking forward to hearing from you! Thank you for sharing your valuable story with me today! It was a fun time where I could really feel your passion!

Text by Tomoyo Akasaka

Based on the concept of "imagining the history of an unconventional artist through his art," this program listens closely to the art and touches upon the personality and life story of one "unconventional artist" that can be seen beyond his work.

The two MCs are Sara Ogawa, an actor, filmmaker and writer, and Takaya Matsuda, CEO of HERALBONY. Each episode focuses on a writer under contract with HERALBONY, and welcomes intellectually disabled writers, their families and welfare facility staff as guests.

It is available every Sunday on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music.

You can also enjoy back issues for free.

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