In this uncertain era, overflowing with complex values and countless "truths," perhaps what we truly seek are things we can "feel for sure." This year's Valentine's Day chocolates are a collaboration born from this very sentiment, where sensibilities meet. It was also an endeavor to encounter a beauty we had never seen before.

For this occasion, HERALBONY collaborated with the French restaurant "été" to create a special chocolate box. The "été × HERALBONY | Chocolat BOX" is filled with six types of chocolates supervised by owner-chef Natsuko Shoji. Opening the lid reveals "Father and Starry Sky 2," a work by HERALBONY contract artist Haruka Asano, unveiling a beautiful world that feels brand new.
Natsuko Shoji has a younger sister, two years her junior, who has a severe intellectual disability. Although there were times during her adolescence when she felt distress, she now expresses gratitude. It was against this backdrop that she encountered HERALBONY, leading to this collaboration.

How will the creations of "été," which has collaborated with numerous top artists, intersect with HERALBONY's art to paint a new world?

Through the conversation with Natsuko Shoji, owner-chef of "été," and Haruka Asano, HERALBONY contract artist, we delve into the background and their thoughts.

This Encounter is Not a "Coincidence" but a "Resonance"

Artwork title: "Hyoka"
Artist: Haruka Asano

 

――First, please tell us about how you two met. What were your initial impressions of each other when you first learned of the other's existence?

Haruka Asano (hereafter, Asano): Last year, my manager received a job request and told me, "There's talk of a collaboration with Natsuko Shoji." It was written in the email my manager sent me, and I felt that Ms. Shoji's relationship with her father was similar to my relationship with my father.

Also, I have three younger sisters, and my second sister is about the same age as Ms. Shoji, and her name is also the same. Even the kanji characters are identical.

Natsuko Shoji (hereafter, Shoji): Both name and age? That's destiny! When I first saw Ms. Asano's work, I was immediately overwhelmed by its incredible energy.

The title "Hyoka" (Evaluation) and the desire to "be evaluated" embedded within the work. I certainly have that feeling, and I think it's a desire present in everyone, but seeing it expressed with such energy in her art left a powerful impression.

Anxiety, Joy, Shock. Expression is Born When the Heart is Moved.

Asano: When I feel anxious, the urge to draw comes to me. But while I'm drawing, it's incredibly fun. Also, when I'm happy, I want to draw. When I draw when I'm happy, it feels really good and enjoyable. The year before last, when I received the news that I had won the Grand Prize at the HERALBONY Art Prize, I drew a picture of the rain I saw that day.

――Ms. Shoji, your work is cooking. For this collaboration, did you choose "chocolate" as the medium of expression?

Shoji: I believe chocolate is one of the indispensable tools globally. While I myself have things I want to convey to the world, I felt an intense impact when I encountered HERALBONY. I thought this "chocolate season" was a great opportunity to let many people know about that impact and my feelings.

Especially from late January to mid-March, many people buy chocolate, don't they? There's a high demand for self-rewards and gifts. While it's my own creation, there's a strong intention to introduce HERALBONY and Ms. Asano's work as well.

――In selecting ingredients and designing the flavors for these chocolates, were there any "non-negotiable" points?

Shoji: My main concern was not making it too much of an "art piece" that might be too niche. I wanted more people to enjoy it, so I aimed for "flavors with a wide strike zone."

Asano: It smells wonderful! It looks delicious.

Beauty that Attracts Beyond Logic

――One of the themes of this collaboration is "beauty." For both of you, when do you feel something is "beautiful"?

Shoji: There are beautiful things that are visible, but what I value most is the "honest emotion" that customers feel after finishing the food, which is my work. Beyond just their impressions, the emotions that arise within each customer, with their unique stories, possess an irreplaceable beauty, I believe.

Asano: I usually create at home, in an old, run-down apartment complex where drafts blow through gaps. But it gets good sunlight, it's very quiet, and sometimes I hear birds chirping. I create on the tatami floor, and then I'll suddenly notice light streaming through the window onto the tatami. It's quiet. I thought that was incredibly beautiful.

――There are moments you can't explain but can't take your eyes off, aren't there? When do you feel, "This is something I'm drawn to, not logically, but instinctively"?

Shoji: It's something that descends unexpectedly, without prediction. For example, Ms. Asano's work, too; its intricacy and the impulse one encounters are sudden, not something you would have predicted, of course. Fortunately, this time, I had this opportunity to discover it. The shock that comes without planning is profound.

Cooking is the same. Even when I'm making something myself, it's as if it "descends," and sometimes something beyond my own imagination suddenly comes into being.

Asano: I love cute sweets, like chocolate bonbons, sugar bonbons, candied violets, and meringue cookies. I really love seeing those cute sweets beautifully packaged.

――Ms. Shoji, you've spoken a little about your younger sister before. Do you feel that the "sense of being drawn to something beyond logic" or the way you perceive people has been shaped, in part, by your relationship with your sister?

Shoji: I lived with my sister until I was deep in my teenage years. When I walked with my sister outside or rode the train, people would stare, and at school, harsh words were sometimes thrown at us. Now I'd think, "I have to protect her," but back then, honestly, I sometimes felt resentment.

I’d think, "Why do I have to be treated so coldly?" or feel that "everyone at school doesn't see my sister as a normal person." Of course, living together as a family must have been difficult, and those memories remain as painful ones.

But looking back as an adult, those confusing feelings and experiences with people's gazes profoundly influenced my personal growth. I feel that the "power" I have in my life now was cultivated there.

I always wanted to do something like a "return favor" for my sister when I gained some influence. That's when I encountered HERALBONY. They were doing exactly what I had always felt, but on such a large, official scale, and with such influence. It was truly dazzling.

――Given that these encounters partly led to this collaboration, what was the deciding factor in choosing to work together?

Shoji: While there are many artists, what stood out was their approach to treating "people who are often positioned in society as not easily recognized as artists" as genuine artists.

Even at the facility my sister was in, there were times for creating and expressing. However, how that was treated in society and what value was given to it were completely different. I wasn't aware of any initiatives in Japan that seriously engaged with this kind of art to this extent. That was the deciding factor.

Asano: The similar relationship with her father. Her passion for her work. I liked that she worked with chocolate. I also have a passion for my work. I create as long as my body allows. Also, Ms. Shoji having the same name and being around the same age as my sister.

Shoji: This is a truly amazing commonality. It feels like destiny (laughs).

Unique and Unparalleled Brilliance Never Before Seen

――This time, Ms. Asano's work, "Father and Starry Sky 2," is featured on the chocolate packaging. From what feelings or sense of distance was this work born?

Asano: This work came about because my father's anxiety became my anxiety. So, I drew it as if I was venting that anxiety. My father entered a facility due to illness and was alone. He said he wanted to go home. That's why the father in this painting is crying. I couldn't help my suffering father, but I wanted to convey that I truly understood his struggle and effort. I wanted to tell him, "You're not alone." I drew it because I wanted the world to know about my father.

――Ms. Shoji, hearing this story now, does it bring back any memories of your own father?

Shoji: Looking back now, I think my father also struggled with how to face my sister. There were times back then when I wondered, "Why is my father like this?" I even felt like I didn't want him to be my father. But precisely because we overcame that time, there's a part of me that now hopes people who are struggling can also learn from this experience.

――HERALBONY interprets "unique brilliance" not as a special talent, but as "natural differences unique to that person." How do you both perceive this term?

Shoji: I believe it's irreplaceable and unique. Ms. Asano is a prime example. I think such works wouldn't be born without Ms. Asano's effort, or rather, without her living her life with such dedication. It's about Ms. Asano's personality, her life. I don't think it's something everyone can become.

Asano: I want to be called a "unique brilliance." I want to be called a unique brilliance and be recognized by many people.

――If you could add one message to those who pick up these chocolates and artwork, what would you want to say? What kind of feelings would you like them to experience?

Shoji: What I value most is the "pure story" of gifting a beautiful art piece to someone important. Familiar things often don't surprise us because our brains are used to them, but I think this packaging offers an experience of encountering "something never seen before." There are many chocolates out there, but this one should be special among them. I want important people to feel that kind of emotion.

Asano: I want to tell everyone that this is an amazing chocolate. That it's a collaboration between Ms. Shoji's chocolate and my artwork. I want to convey that it's a very beautiful, cute, and stylish chocolate.

An unprecedented beauty and impulse experienced the moment the box is opened.
Amidst the fluctuating everyday, a moment to believe in authenticity—

Why not give the gift of a special moment this Valentine's Day?

Haruka Asano

Haruka Asano creates artworks on themes of illness and life, using motifs such as starry skies, coral, living creatures, family, and her unique character, "Chibi." Diagnosed with schizophrenia at age 20, she searched for "what she could do" amidst repeated hospitalizations and discharges, beginning to draw seriously at age 29. As a blank white paper makes her nervous, she cuts open rice sacks to use as canvases, starting by tracing their wrinkles. Utilizing the unevenness and tears, she expands her unique world with delicate depictions. She continues her creative activities with the hope that her work will foster a greater understanding of herself and her illness. In 2024, she won the Grand Prize at the HERALBONY Art Prize. Her dream is to exhibit her work in an American museum.

https://artgallery.heralbony.com/artists/39-/

Natsuko Shoji
été Inc.
Owner Chef, Restaurant "été"

Born in Tokyo in 1989. While in high school, she trained at French restaurants in Tokyo. After graduation, she worked at "Le Jeu de l'Assiette" in Daikanyama and "Florilège" in Minami-Aoyama. In 2014, at the age of 24, she became independent and opened the patisserie "Fleur de été," followed a year later by the restaurant "été." In March 2020, she became the first Japanese woman to receive the "Asia's Best Restaurants Best Pastry Chef" award.

 

été × HERALBONY｜Chocolat BOX　5,400 yen (tax included)
A set of été's signature bonbons and truffles. Enjoy the rich flavors and smooth melt-in-your-mouth texture in quiet indulgence. The box, adorned with artist Haruka Asano's "Father and Starry Sky 2" artwork, can be reused as a trinket box after the chocolates are finished. A box that leaves a lingering impression on your everyday.