You can hear the colors. They give you hope. Asuka Tazaki's works portray the heart. "Listening Museum #18"
"HERALBONY TONE FROM MUSEUM ~Listening Museum~" is a podcast that launched this spring and focuses on artists contracted to the welfare experimental company 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.
Our guest this time is Asuka Tazaki, an unusual artist who lives in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture. Asuka describes her work as "drawing from the heart," what is the power of art that she discovered through the earthquake disaster? And what is her father Minoru's wish for HERALBONY after experiencing the disaster?
#Colors resonate with each other
Ogawa: What kind of people will be appearing today?
Takaya: Today, we have Asuka Tazaki from Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, the birthplace of Heralbony. All of Asuka's paintings, such as the one with colorful trees gathered together, are highly praised.
Ogawa: There were a few colorful trees and a straight path stretching out in the forest, and the branches of the trees were intricately intertwined, but each and every one of them seemed to shine and were truly full of life.
Asuka Tazakii "Forest Path - Red Forest"
Takaya: Full of vitality. Exactly. Yakodo, a large drugstore chain in Tohoku, has its headquarters in Iwate, and has been featured in collaboration t-shirts and other merchandise, and even has a train wrapped around the brand that runs through Iwate. It's a superstar. I'd love to hear more about it.
Ogawa: I'm looking forward to it! So, I'm Asuka Tazaki, her father Minoru, and today we're connected remotely with Shintaro Tanno from Heralbony. Thank you for your time.
Minoru-san: Thank you very much.
Ogawa: Nice to meet you, Tazaki-san.
Asuka: Thank you!
Takaya: Asuka, you're already wearing a Yakodo T-shirt! Can you tell us a bit about the picture on this one?
Asuka: A clownfish, a clownfish.
Takaya: A clownfish!
Ogawa: There's a cute clownfish drawn on it!
Asuka: Flounder.
Takaya: Flounder!
Ogawa: That's wonderful! Are you here at home today? There are original drawings hanging behind you, and those are wonderful too!
Minoru: This is a gallery that also serves as a place for everyone to gather, and it was really a dream come true. There are many people who cooperate with us, and it was made possible thanks to their support. There is even a slope so that everyone can gather. I'm glad I did it. It's a place where my wish to make it possible for people with disabilities to gather comfortably has come true.
Ogawa: Is it not just you, Tazaki, but a variety of other people who gather at the gallery?
Minoru-san: We have people from the neighborhood and people with disabilities who come to the event. My wife runs a bakery here, so ideally we would like people to come and eat bread purchased from the bakery.
Takaya: That's great!
Ogawa: When you all gather there, what do you usually do?
Minoru-san: People in the neighborhood chat about everyday things, but people with disabilities gather here because it's a place where they can talk comfortably, knowing that "the people with disabilities here feel the same way as us." The city has a place for people with disabilities to gather, but many people say, "It's hard to go there."
Ogawa: I see. I think the presence of Tazaki's paintings plays a big role in creating such a comfortable space. What do you think?
Minoru-san: A lot of people say things like, "I can relax here," and "I want to stay here forever." I think that's really great.
Takaya: By the way, what about you, Shintaro (Tanno)? I hear that you often have the opportunity to hang out with your family at the gallery.
Tanno: I'm from the same hometown as you, Rikuzentakata, so I have the opportunity to visit this gallery from time to time. I always get bread from the mother there and have a chat over coffee, so it really feels like a comfortable place.
Takaya: Our employees have always been very supportive of us. Thank you for participating in the "Isai no Kanshasai" (Thanksgiving Festival) held in Morioka in July 2023 to celebrate the 5th anniversary of HERALBONY. I was wondering what you think of HERALBONY from your perspective as a father.
Minoru: Thank you very much. It was a really fun time. Originally, we just wanted people to enjoy Asuka's work in a frame, so that Asuka could participate in society and people who saw it could enter the painting and enjoy it, but Heralbony took it in a different direction and opened the way to make it more accessible, and we are very grateful. People with disabilities also have their own personalities and wonderful sensibilities, and I think that developing that into something familiar and allowing people to enjoy it is the way that people with disabilities should participate in society.
Takaya: Thank you!
Ogawa: The works themselves are of course wonderful, but when those paintings are on everyday items like clothes or bags, it really feels like they seep into the hearts and lives of those who use them.
Takaya: Your artwork is used prominently in the design of our credit cards, and the other day a large piece of your artwork was displayed on the stairs at JAL's Misawa Airport. Thank you so much, Asuka.
(Asuka bows)
Ogawa: Oh, he's bowing!
Takaya: What kind of feeling do you usually have when you draw, Asuka?
Asuka: (answers in a small voice)
Minoru-san: You said "heart," right? Asuka uses the phrase "heart" in her daily life.
Takaya: So you say you paint from your heart. That's great!
Minoru: One time, a reporter asked me to take a photo with my favorite painting, and when he asked me what I was painting, I answered bluntly, "The heart."
Takaya: It's amazing.
Minoru-san: I thought, "Wow! So you understand art!" But even in everyday life, you often say things like "Be grateful," "Listen with your heart," "Eat with your heart," and so on. Maybe it's connected to that, but even with colors, sometimes I wonder, "Why do you use these colors?" but you say, "You can hear the colors."
Ogawa: Wow!
Minoru: So it's not like I'm trying to recreate the scenery (for Asuka). I use colors that resonate in my heart. It started out as a normal brown. It was like I was trying to get a rough idea. At first it was just a straight road, but then it suddenly changed to pink. What happened next was that I changed it to red trees, then added blue trees, and it just kept changing.
Takaya: Yes, yes.
Minoru-san: What's interesting is that when he was working on the Red Forest, he seemed to have a hard time figuring out how to fill in the gaps between the trees, but when he finally filled in the gaps with blue using a thin brush, it seemed to open up a space, and he was satisfied with the result. In this way, it continues to develop. It's because he's applying the colors that he hears in his heart. But by the end, the colors mysteriously start to resonate with each other. Ah, even I can tell that they're starting to resonate with each other. It's really fun to watch from the sidelines.
Takaya: Asuka, do colors have an inner voice?
Asuka: Yes.
Asuka: How does it sound?
Asuka: I can hear your heart.
Ogawa: I can hear the heart.
Takaya: That's amazing.
Minoru-san: I paint with acrylic paints, but there are many different kinds. I also use a lot of brushes. It's difficult to adjust the color concentration by myself, so I dissolve the paint for him, but when it comes to starting to paint, he specifies the color. He says, "This color is good," without any hesitation. I don't know which color to use where, and it's hard to express it in words, but I think Asuka can hear the colors in his heart. So instead of reproducing the colors of the forest and the sea as he sees them, he can freely choose the color of the forest in his heart. I think that's the kind of world it is.
Ogawa: When you were little, did you often go out to the forest, or did you see anything like that?
Minoru: The forest is a bit different. There is a small section in the local paper, Tokai Shinpo, that features photos and illustrations, and I really responded to a photo in there that had a theme of a sunny spot in the forest. So I said, "Let's try drawing a forest." After the earthquake, I drew various pictures, and that's when I started the "Road Series." It's a drawing of a short, straight road.
Asuka Tazaki "Sunset Road"
Takaya: That is really wonderful!
Minoru-san: When I asked him what he wanted the town of Takada to be in the future, he said, "I want it to be a town full of flowers." So I drew a lot of flower fields on a straight road, and people who saw it said, "It makes me feel hopeful," and I thought that Asuka can participate in society in this way. So I decided to try drawing various things, and I started drawing forests. So the forest was born from a small photo I found in the newspaper, but usually I draw from memory what I see.
Ogawa: There is also a picture of a crab next to the forest painting. Is this something you saw?
Asuka: Yes. Yes.
Minoru-san: I once went on a trip to Akita and visited the Oga Aquarium. There, a spider crab was hooking one leg against the wall, making a ferocious pose. I said, "Asuka, that's interesting. Let's draw it sometime." When I started to draw it, the eyes I drew after the pose with one leg raised had become very gentle. I realized that Asuka didn't see the crab as ferocious.
Ogawa: It looked different.
Minoru-san: So, "There was a crab house over there, right?" I cut up some cardboard and stuck it on. I wondered what would happen from there, and sure enough, it was colorful. The rock I saw in real life was black, but in Asuka it was a colorful house like this.
Takaya: That's amazing. There are new colors.
Minoru: That's right. There is a world of color. I don't reproduce what I see, but the scenery inside me, the crab inside me. So I don't get excited when I see something, I just take a quick look. But later, when I start drawing, thinking "That was interesting, so I'll try drawing it," I remember it. Because I draw it from my memory, the shapes and colors change freely in various ways.
#What the earthquake changed
Takaya: We had a solo exhibition of Asuka's work at the Heralbony Gallery, and I think the Great East Japan Earthquake was a big turning point for Asuka's style. There were paintings of people flowing, and paintings like the "Miracle Pine Tree" from Rikuzentakata. What kind of impact did the disaster actually have on you?
Minoru: (To Asuka) Were you scared of the earthquake?
Asuka: ...Yes.
Minoru: If there was one big change, it would have to be the Great East Japan Earthquake. Until then, I used to draw with tools I had around, but after experiencing the earthquake, I had a really strong feeling of "I wonder what will happen." When I told him at the evacuation center that his house had been washed away, he suddenly said, "I want to go home," and that night he threw up and had a fever. I think it was about a week later. I had to go see the remains of my house to apply for insurance.
Takaya: Yeah, yeah.
Minoru: Then, he absolutely refused to look at the remains of the house. He turned his body towards the mountain as if to say, "I'm definitely not going to look at the house." It was the first time I'd ever seen Asuka with such a stern expression on his face, and I thought it must have been quite a shock. I think it was thanks to the art world that he was able to recover from that. While we were living in the evacuation shelter, Mitsui-san from the Lumbini Museum came to visit us.
Takaya: It was Mr. Mitsui, the chairman of the Lumbini Museum in Hanamaki, who inspired me to create HERALBONY.
Minoru: That's right. Mitsui asked me, "There's a selection exhibition, and Asuka, I don't know if it's going to be difficult because of the current situation, but if you can, could you draw something for me?" That's what he asked me. But we were living in a shelter, so we had nothing, and everything was washed away. So he said, "We'll prepare everything ourselves," and prepared everything from canvas to brushes. So when I asked Asuka, "What will you do?", he said, "I'll draw something."
Takaya: Yes. Minoru: Of the 63 households in the neighborhood association, 23 people died, including 10 from the same group who always spoke to us. I think it was a painful memory for Asuka, but I thought I would draw them because I think they are all in heaven. So the first thing I drew after the disaster was "The People Who Became Stars."
Asuka Tazaki "People who became stars"
Minoru-san: But to my surprise, it was completely different from the paintings he made before the disaster. He painted so violently, it was like he was confronting the viewer. He painted it all in one go, and I think he was very angry about the tsunami, but he also used bright yellows, and I thought he was praying for those who had died. After that, he remade "Forest Family," but he continued to use different colors and painting styles for five or six works.
Ogawa: Ah.
Minoru: After the sixth work, the colors gradually returned to the gentle colors they had before the disaster. Asuka has difficulty talking about the various experiences she has had, so she pours them out into her paintings. By pouring them out into her paintings, little by little, she was able to sort out her feelings. So for Asuka, painting is a part of her language, a part of her life. And a part of her. I think the disaster was the catalyst that really changed Asuka.
Takaya: Thank you.
Ogawa: Asuka's emotions are truly reflected in her paintings.
Takaya: You and Asuka call each other "Shin-chan," and I'm sure you have many memories together. Is there anything fun you'd like to share?
Tanno: Recently, there was an event called the "National Tree Planting Festival" where children had the opportunity to perform a dance, and Heralbony produced the costumes for the event. One of the pieces we used there was Asuka's work. Moreover, the venue for the event was a roadside station near Takada Matsubara, which existed at the time of the earthquake (Editor's note: Takada Matsubara was a scenic spot known for its beautiful pine forests, but most of the land was lost due to the tsunami). Of course, we knew that we were from the same place, but we never thought that we would be able to work together like this. We may have passed each other in the city before the earthquake, but we didn't recognize each other at the time, so I feel that it was fate that we are able to work together now. I'm not directly in charge of this now, but I would like to plan other jobs and create more opportunities for us to work together!
Takaya: It was an amazing event where the children dressed up in Asuka's costumes as dancers and danced with the Emperor in attendance!
Ogawa: It would be a wonderful sight if those trees started dancing! I'd like to see a decorated train too!
Takaya: A wrapped train! With the concept of "Let's revitalize Iwate and Tohoku" in collaboration with JR East, for about two years from autumn 2023, two lines on the Kamaishi Line between Hanamaki and Kamaishi, and between Hanamaki and Morioka stations will be wrapped in two designs. It really looks like the trees are dancing as they run. I'm looking forward to it!
Ogawa: I'm really looking forward to it! It will be irresistible for art fans, and also for train fans. I'm looking at the image right now, and it would be amazing to see it in action.
Takaya: Asuka, how about it? Please take the train!
Asuka: I want to ride it.
Takaya: I would be happy if you would ride it as many times as you like.
Ogawa: By the way, Asuka, is there anything you want to do with HERALBONY in the future?
Asuka: Ah, yes. I want to continue doing it.
Minoru: I want to continue doing this.
Takaya: Thank you.
Ogawa: I'd like to see it continue too!
Takaya: I think we'll be working together a lot from now on, so I look forward to it!
Ogawa: I think it's wonderful that art is so deeply rooted in the local community. Thank you.
Minoru's wish
Minoru: Takaya, can I ask you something?
Takaya: Yes.
Minoru-san: There is something I would like to ask you to help me with here in Takada. I said earlier that many things in our town have changed since the earthquake, but one thing we must not forget is that on that day, people with disabilities disappeared from the town, even though the whole of Takada town has changed greatly. There is also a movie about that. The reason is that there is a thick wall between people with disabilities and people without disabilities. At the recent Isai no Kanshasai, Fumito briefly mentioned that "it's hard to get our feelings across," and we feel that very much too. The reason why people with disabilities disappeared during the earthquake was because they didn't want to cause trouble for other people. So they took a step back and thought that they just had to endure it.
Ogawa: Ah...
Minoru-san: At first, everyone at the evacuation shelters was welcoming and it was like, "We're glad we were saved," but people with disabilities started to panic. They started to walk around and shout a little louder. Then the people around them started to frown and frown, and they couldn't bear it anymore. So people with disabilities didn't want to cause trouble, so they decided to take a step back and stay at home. That's why they left the town.
Takaya: Yeah, yeah.
Asuka Tazaki "Miracle Pine Tree"
Minoru: This town's citizen charter states that it is "town development without the word normalization," but it seems that disabled people and able-bodied people take a step back from each other and there is no compromise. However, things like Heralbony can help people feel that they are disabled. Furthermore, if we take a step out of our local connections like we do, we can connect with the whole country. So, if Takaya and others call out to people, "Let's take a step out like this," everyone will take a step out through art. It's difficult because not only the person but also their family has to take the step out. Another thing I'd like to tell you about the current situation is that there is a request from the national government to make individual evacuation plans for disabled people as part of their work. The city is taking on all of this, but in Takada's case, there are 220 people who are eligible. However, only seven people have individual evacuation plans.
Takaya: Yeah, that's all...
Minoru: There are more than 1,100 people who have a disability certificate. Among them, evacuation plans are being made for only 220 people who live in the yellow zone on the hazard map, and only seven people have made the move because they have to be accompanied by two caregivers. People need to be accustomed to helping others when something happens. If there were people with disabilities in the community and it was normal to live like that, I don't think this would happen... I think art is a big force in helping to solve this problem. So I hope that Takaya and his friends can say, "The world will change if you take a step forward with your family."
Takaya: Ah, thank you. I'm sure you're right. When you think about living in a local area, I strongly feel that it won't work without the understanding of the local people. That's why we're working really hard, opening stores in places like department stores that we think are difficult for families to visit, but I think it would be great if we could expand our activities to support not just the artist themselves, but the whole family, in coming forward. I'd love to feature Asuka and others and work together with them.
Minoru: That’s right.
Ogawa: This podcast is exactly that, with Mr. Tazaki's family speaking to us again today, and various family members have stepped forward in the past, and many people have been encouraged by their stories, so I think it's part of that activity.
Takaya: Yes, it would be great if it could become something like a community radio station.
Ogawa: Thank you so much for sharing your valuable stories with us today, not just about art but also about the earthquake disaster.
Minoru: Thank you very much.
Text by Tomoyo Akasaka
Asuka Tazaki
He lives in Rikuzentakata City. He was born with cerebral palsy and intellectual disabilities. He was interested in picture books and art books from an early age, and when he started drawing at the urging of his father, Minoru, who is a metal engraving artist, his talent developed and he even won an award at an art exhibition. In an instant, he lost his home, about 200 paintings he had made, the rich nature he had grown accustomed to, and the people who lived there... all these irreplaceable and precious things. He was so shocked and saddened that he put down his paint brush for a time, but his father's words made him pick up his paint brush again, and after going through such a terrible experience, he has been able to move the hearts of many viewers.
"HERALBONY TONE FROM MUSEUM ~Listening Museum~" is now available for free
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.
