Creative and moving to the heart and society. Heralbony's "Goosebumps, I have to file my tax return."
"When I received the notification of my tax return, I got goosebumps. This is not just a tax return. It's a tax return that tells us about the progress of the world."
In June 2025, Heralbony won the Gold Award in the Glass: The Lion for Change category at Cannes Lions 2025, known as the world's highest level creative festival, which honors creative work that fights inequality and prejudice.
In addition to this award, since its founding, the company has consistently taken social action to "promote a change in values regarding disabilities" through creativity.
Today, I would like to introduce one of them, "Goosebumps come from filing tax returns."
"Goosebumps, I have tax returns to file."
---------------------- I get goosebumps because I have to file my tax return."My son has exceeded the dependent threshold, so I have to file a tax return."
The call came from the parents of a person with severe intellectual disabilities.
In Japan, there are various types of employment contracts for people with intellectual or physical disabilities who have difficulty working under an employment contract.
There is a system in place to support employees in receiving vocational training at their workplace.
The average wage (labor cost) paid there is 15,776 yen per month*.
Heralbony has licensing agreements with authors, primarily those with intellectual disabilities.
Their artworks are then incorporated into fashion and interior design and sold.
It is because of strong individuality that we are able to depict a world.
It is because of disabilities that we can live our lives.
I continued running believing that.
When I received the notice about my tax return, I got goosebumps.
This isn't just a tax return.
Because tax returns tell us how the world is progressing.
I'm sure the world will be repainted more vividly.
With the unique talent of the artists and our ideas,
We envision the possibilities, lifestyles, and futures of people with disabilities.
1.31 Unique Day by Heralbony
*In the case of Type B continuous employment support Source: Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, Status of employment support measures for people with disabilities (2020)
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This poster was unveiled on January 31st, just before tax filing season, in four locations, including Kasumigaseki Station, the nearest station to the National Tax Agency. It won the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Award/ACC Grand Prix in the PR category at the 2023 63rd ACC TOKYO CREATIVITY AWARDS, one of Japan's largest creative awards.
This initiative, which has received a great response, was born out of actual feedback received from the families of our contracted artists.
A future in which disabled writers may become "supporters"
Heralbony's contract writers are mainly people with intellectual disabilities, and many of them are recipients of the employment welfare service "Continued Employment Support Type B," which supports people who have difficulty finding work under an employment contract.
While Type B Continuing Employment Support has the advantage of allowing people to undergo employment training at their own pace, it is not actually employment, and so payments are not paid as wages but as "labor costs," amounting to an average of 15,776 yen per month*, or 222 yen per hour.
Many writers' families say the same thing.
"How will my son/daughter live after we die? I can't die."
In this context, the fact that there are now writers who file tax returns that exceed the standard of parental support is a major step towards a world where being unique is the norm.
"Maybe one day we'll be supported by our son."
The hopeful smiles of the artist's parents, who became the first to file tax returns, continue to motivate us at HERALBONY today.
*In the case of Type B continuous employment support Source: Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, Status of employment support measures for people with disabilities (2020)
Over the past three years, artist fees have increased 15.6 times. HERALBONY will continue to take action.
And now, two years have passed since 2023, when "I get goosebumps, I have to file my tax return."
This year again, some of Heralbony's contracted writers are filing their tax returns.
The amount of compensation paid to artists, including sales of products and original artwork, and licensing fees for collaborations with companies and local governments, grew 15.6 times over the three years from 2021 to 2024.
The uniqueness that artists exude as they are leads to rewards, which in turn leads to self-realization, such as independence and the ability to pursue what they love.
"Goosebumps, I have to file my tax return." Featured artists and products
Artist Satoru Kobayashi connects all the numbers and letters to create his drawings. His unique writing style originated from his diaries and essays while attending a junior high school for the disabled. At first, his teachers struggled to find a way to correct it. However, they later came to see it as an attractive form of expression, and now it has flourished as a unique work of art that has captivated many people.
At Cannes Lions, they both appeared on stage as artists representing Heralbony, performing a live painting session where they drew letters on the spot.
Satoru is a fan of Billy Joel, Queen, Yosui Inoue, Spitz, and The Boom, and always listens to music on headphones while he creates. He has even made art with lyrics from his favorite Spitz songs engraved on them into products.
Featured Products
Smartphone case "Summer Demon"
ID Case "Number"
> Satoru Kobayashi | Artist profile and list of featured products
>Click here for the production video 
Taisuke Kinugasa depicts the scenery he witnessed while traveling around the world with his family, using his unique worldview filled with light and color.
Possessing a sense and sensitivity for color that has been described as magical, his works, in which he instantly selects colors from hundreds of paint colors, have earned him high praise both in Japan and abroad.
By the way, the "smiley face" that can often be seen in his works is a kind of signature that he draws when he finishes a piece. Taisuke says "Hello!" while drawing this mark, which may be a greeting to those who will come across this work in the future.
Featured Products
Handkerchief "Kimochi"
Silk satin scarf "Breakfast in Budapest" (Paris Edition)
>Taisuke Kinugasa｜Artist profile and list of featured products
>Click here for the production video 
Tazaki Asuka's work is being exhibited at the Osaka Kansai Expo as a giant wall art piece measuring approximately 13 meters in length.
Asuka, who lives in Rikuzentakata City, lost her home and over 200 artworks in the tsunami caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake, and was so shocked that she put down her paint brush. However, her father's words, "There are feelings that cannot be put into words, and perhaps there are paintings that must be painted now," have inspired her to rekindle her creative process.
His works, with their vivid colors and the expressions of the animals, convey a warm gaze towards life, and continue to give hope to many people today.
Original artwork
"Grey Heron" original artwork
"Lily's Memories" original artwork
>Asuka Tazaki | Artist profile and original artwork
We also worked together with Asuka on the social action campaign "#Don'tErasePeopleWithDisabilities" in the wake of the 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake.
During the Great East Japan Earthquake, which Asuka also experienced, many people with disabilities were expelled from evacuation centers and forced to return to their half-destroyed homes or stay with relatives. We do not want people with disabilities to disappear from evacuation centers. We are disseminating information that people with disabilities need in disaster-stricken areas and evacuation centers during disasters, so that it is available to not only those with disabilities themselves, but also to many other people.
>Special website | "#Don'tErasePeopleWithDisabilities"
Our ultimate goal through the HERALBONY brand is to promote a "change in values regarding disabilities" and create a society where everyone, regardless of whether they have a disability or not, can "stand out" in their own way.
And incorporating the art of artists into your life is also a big action.
We hope you will enjoy using our products, which are decorated with unique art, in a way that is true to yourself and allows your own unique style to shine through.
> Recommended items that are easy to incorporate even for beginners
