"They don't want to catch up with able-bodied people" - Interview with Yamanami Kobo Facility Director, Kazukazu Yamashita [Part 2]
June 25, 2024
INTERVIEW
"HERALBONY & PEOPLE" is a series where we talk to people who support HERALBONY. Following on from the first part, we interviewed Mr. Masato Yamashita, the director of "Yamanami Kobo" in Koka City, Shiga Prefecture, a welfare facility that has produced many world-class artists.
>>Click here for the first part: A legend in the welfare world explains "Why I can fully accept people" - Interview with Yamanami Kobo Director [Part 1]
In the first place, we were not born with the goal of catching up with able-bodied people.
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--So you run the facility with the primary goal of making it a place where residents can feel at ease and comfortable.
Yamashita Kanwa (hereinafter Yamashita): Yes. It's not about helping them "overcome" what they can't do, but about allowing them to continue doing what they're good at and what they love. I think the best thing we can do is to be enthusiastic and considerate, just as they have given me a lot of affirmation.
--I was really impressed by what you said about how, as you interact with the people in front of you, it might actually be us who are growing.
Yamashita: To begin with, the people in front of us are not aiming to catch up with people who are called able-bodied, and they weren't even born with the goal of catching up. So why do we set our goal in that direction?
Rather than imposing society's "should be" on them, wouldn't it be natural for society to adapt to them?
Maybe we are the ones who need to change. If we think like that, we can grow, and I think that's how it should be. By being able to coexist and showcasing each other's strengths, the situation will improve rapidly and the places we can reach will expand. I hope that society will progress in that way.
Reaching people who are not interested in welfare. The meaning of walking with HERALBONY
--I feel that the human dignity of each and every person here is valued.
Yamashita: But I feel the same way about everyone at Heralbony. My impression hasn't changed since I first met the representatives, the Matsuda brothers, that they're not amazing because they're disabled, or amazing in spite of their disabilities, but rather they always treat everyone with dignity as an individual.
That's why we at Atelier Yamanami are able to overcome all kinds of challenges with the peace of mind and confidence that comes from knowing that we have a strong ally.
Yamashita: But I feel the same way about everyone at Heralbony. My impression hasn't changed since I first met the representatives, the Matsuda brothers, that they're not amazing because they're disabled, or amazing in spite of their disabilities, but rather they always treat everyone with dignity as an individual.
That's why we at Atelier Yamanami are able to overcome all kinds of challenges with the peace of mind and confidence that comes from knowing that we have a strong ally.
--What does Heralbony mean to Kobo Yamanami?
Yamashita: I feel that Heralbony is creating opportunities for us to meet new people that we would never have met on our own. We are having many experiences that we have never had before, and we are seeing new horizons. I don't know how much this is stimulating and encouraging for the people on the ground.
Yamanami Kobo has been carrying out various initiatives, but it cannot be denied that a facility alone tends to be confined to the framework of welfare, and that it tends to end as an internal issue involving those involved.
However, by working with Heralbony, we are able to reach people who have no interest in welfare or art at all, and their perspectives are changed in many ways.
Yamashita: I feel that Heralbony is creating opportunities for us to meet new people that we would never have met on our own. We are having many experiences that we have never had before, and we are seeing new horizons. I don't know how much this is stimulating and encouraging for the people on the ground.
Yamanami Kobo has been carrying out various initiatives, but it cannot be denied that a facility alone tends to be confined to the framework of welfare, and that it tends to end as an internal issue involving those involved.
However, by working with Heralbony, we are able to reach people who have no interest in welfare or art at all, and their perspectives are changed in many ways.
Heralbony shines a spotlight on the "individual" rather than the "disabled."
Yamashita: Also, as we spend our days together, I feel that the Matsuda Brothers and all the other staff at HERALBONY are "looking in the same direction as us." It makes me feel like "we're not alone" and that there are people who are running alongside us toward the same goal, which is a tremendous source of strength.
It is very important that we live in the same era, face the same direction, and share the same ideas. For us, it is a joy to have the opportunity to work with you all.
--Hearing that makes me think again about what role we at Heralbony should play.
Yamashita: As I said earlier, the most important thing we think about is the people in front of us at this facility, and whether they can stay calm and happy every day. By working with Heralbony, we can focus more on the people in front of us. It gives us the confidence to know that we can pass the baton on to them from there.
I believe it is true that for a long time, people with disabilities have been bound by values that they are unhappy because they have a disability, or that they have to do things a certain way, and have been placed in an environment where they have had very few options or dreams. However, HERALBONY has been able to connect them to society in a completely different way than ever before.
They have changed the reality to one where people think that they are wonderful and cool. They have shone a light on "individuals" rather than "disabled people." So I can feel firsthand that society is changing.
Yamashita: As I said earlier, the most important thing we think about is the people in front of us at this facility, and whether they can stay calm and happy every day. By working with Heralbony, we can focus more on the people in front of us. It gives us the confidence to know that we can pass the baton on to them from there.
I believe it is true that for a long time, people with disabilities have been bound by values that they are unhappy because they have a disability, or that they have to do things a certain way, and have been placed in an environment where they have had very few options or dreams. However, HERALBONY has been able to connect them to society in a completely different way than ever before.
They have changed the reality to one where people think that they are wonderful and cool. They have shone a light on "individuals" rather than "disabled people." So I can feel firsthand that society is changing.
-- Matsuda and others, including the company's president, continue to have a strong, almost rebellious, desire to make change.
Yamashita: Disabilities are something that arise between people. I think there have been stereotypes and assumptions about what things are like, but thanks to HERALBONY, that is starting to disappear. I think values are starting to change.
Now, we have a sense that we are gradually moving towards the social environment we are aiming for.
--What do you think is necessary to change society's image of disabilities in the future? Please give us a message for our readers.
Yamashita: I don't think that people discriminate against or have prejudices against people with disabilities. I just think that many people don't know how to interact with them because they don't have the opportunity or means to properly understand them. Disabilities are born between people. So if we increase the opportunities for people to meet, I think we can understand each other. With our power, we can definitely eliminate disabilities. That's what I believe.
The HERALBONY online store is currently selling artworks by artists belonging to Yamanami Studio. Please check them out.
Yamashita: Disabilities are something that arise between people. I think there have been stereotypes and assumptions about what things are like, but thanks to HERALBONY, that is starting to disappear. I think values are starting to change.
Now, we have a sense that we are gradually moving towards the social environment we are aiming for.
--What do you think is necessary to change society's image of disabilities in the future? Please give us a message for our readers.
Yamashita: I don't think that people discriminate against or have prejudices against people with disabilities. I just think that many people don't know how to interact with them because they don't have the opportunity or means to properly understand them. Disabilities are born between people. So if we increase the opportunities for people to meet, I think we can understand each other. With our power, we can definitely eliminate disabilities. That's what I believe.
The HERALBONY online store is currently selling artworks by artists belonging to Yamanami Studio. Please check them out.
Masato Yamashita Profile
Born in 1967. Lives in Iga City, Mie Prefecture. Director of Yamanami Kobo, a social welfare corporation run by Yamanami Association. After graduating from high school, he was a total lazy person and worked in various jobs. In May 1989, he started working as a support worker at Yamanami Kyodo Kobo, an unlicensed workshop for people with disabilities. In 1990, he established Atelier Korobokkuru, where he values mutual trust and engages in a variety of expressive activities with the goal of helping people live freely, uniquely, and true to themselves, according to their own thoughts and pace. In May 2008, he was appointed director of Yamanami Kobo, a position he still holds today.
Yamanami Kobo's official website is here
Born in 1967. Lives in Iga City, Mie Prefecture. Director of Yamanami Kobo, a social welfare corporation run by Yamanami Association. After graduating from high school, he was a total lazy person and worked in various jobs. In May 1989, he started working as a support worker at Yamanami Kyodo Kobo, an unlicensed workshop for people with disabilities. In 1990, he established Atelier Korobokkuru, where he values mutual trust and engages in a variety of expressive activities with the goal of helping people live freely, uniquely, and true to themselves, according to their own thoughts and pace. In May 2008, he was appointed director of Yamanami Kobo, a position he still holds today.
Yamanami Kobo's official website is here
