Ryoji “The Face” Takeyama passed away on January 19th in Tokyo. He had heart failure while at home with his loving wife Kiyoko and adorable 1 year-old daughter, Moana. They were his heart and soul and he was theirs. He was 40 years old and left us too soon.
This campaign is to immediately raise money for his funeral and memorial service in Tokyo. Any additional funds will be given to Kiyoko and Moana (potentially for Moana’s Dartmouth tuition in 17 years). We appreciate your generosity in this moment of need for his family and please share this campaign and his story with others.
We also ask that you celebrate his life and his memory. If you were lucky enough to know Ryoji, you understand the impact that he had on his friends, his community, and you. He lived the best version of life that he could, unflinching in his passion and unrelenting with his love. He had an enormous appetite to experience new things and to explore new horizons; whether that was snowboarding, or making pottery, rapping in Ghana, playing soccer in Moscow, slack lining off every tree he could find, drumming, or being the best papa he could be.
Ryoji filled our lives with laughter and joy. The sound of his cackle and that smirk on his face will be engrained in our memories as will all the “Ryoji-isms” that he left us with. We wanted to share just a few of his go-to phrases:
- “It’s cool, it’s cool” – Because he was chill and he wanted everyone to be chill with him.
- “It’s gonna be alright” – Because he believed in the power of hope. Hope opens the doors to endless possibilities.
- “I love you man” – Because his heart was big. So big and busy loving all of us that it forgot to take care of itself.
These Ryoji-isms seem very appropriate for us today, as if he was preparing us for this moment. So thank you Ryoji. Thank you for your love and friendship. For your unapologetic swag. Your limitless energy and smile. Your hunger for life.
And speaking of hunger, we will leave you with one more Ryoji-ism:
- “Are you going to finish that?” – Because if you have ever sat down to eat with Ryoji, then he has asked you this question. His appetite for life was only matched by his appetite for food.
For his friends: We are planning spiritual celebrations in the US in New York and Los Angeles in the coming months. If you are interested, please reach out to Erin Kanter or Eddie Le (or respond to this campaign).
You can share your Ryoji stories here for Moana.
Share Ryoji Stories with Moana
One last video so say goodbye because we all knew he could dance but did you know he could sing?
Introducing... "the Face"
This campaign is to immediately raise money for his funeral and memorial service in Tokyo. Any additional funds will be given to Kiyoko and Moana (potentially for Moana’s Dartmouth tuition in 17 years). We appreciate your generosity in this moment of need for his family and please share this campaign and his story with others.
We also ask that you celebrate his life and his memory. If you were lucky enough to know Ryoji, you understand the impact that he had on his friends, his community, and you. He lived the best version of life that he could, unflinching in his passion and unrelenting with his love. He had an enormous appetite to experience new things and to explore new horizons; whether that was snowboarding, or making pottery, rapping in Ghana, playing soccer in Moscow, slack lining off every tree he could find, drumming, or being the best papa he could be.
Ryoji filled our lives with laughter and joy. The sound of his cackle and that smirk on his face will be engrained in our memories as will all the “Ryoji-isms” that he left us with. We wanted to share just a few of his go-to phrases:
- “It’s cool, it’s cool” – Because he was chill and he wanted everyone to be chill with him.
- “It’s gonna be alright” – Because he believed in the power of hope. Hope opens the doors to endless possibilities.
- “I love you man” – Because his heart was big. So big and busy loving all of us that it forgot to take care of itself.
These Ryoji-isms seem very appropriate for us today, as if he was preparing us for this moment. So thank you Ryoji. Thank you for your love and friendship. For your unapologetic swag. Your limitless energy and smile. Your hunger for life.
And speaking of hunger, we will leave you with one more Ryoji-ism:
- “Are you going to finish that?” – Because if you have ever sat down to eat with Ryoji, then he has asked you this question. His appetite for life was only matched by his appetite for food.
For his friends: We are planning spiritual celebrations in the US in New York and Los Angeles in the coming months. If you are interested, please reach out to Erin Kanter or Eddie Le (or respond to this campaign).
You can share your Ryoji stories here for Moana.
Share Ryoji Stories with Moana
One last video so say goodbye because we all knew he could dance but did you know he could sing?
Introducing... "the Face"
