LUXE Magazine – Teppei Kojima and Tradmans Bonsai

In this exclusive LUXE Magazine feature, we meet Teppei Kojima at Tradmans, where centuries-old bonsai techniques are being preserved and shared with a new generation through fresh collaborations and a different vision of what traditional craft can be.

Teppei Kojima’s path to bonsai started in an unexpected place. While working overseas as a fashion buyer, he began seeing Japanese craft from the outside. “The more I speak with those from abroad, the more I’ve come to appreciate the wonders of Japanese history and technique,” he explains. This outside view helped him spot a gap between Japanese bonsai skills and how people around the world understood them. It pushed him to share authentic bonsai techniques in their proper form.

Tradmans works differently from traditional bonsai sellers. At the company’s Marunouchi shop, where a street art mural spelling “bonsai” welcomes visitors, Kojima offers a weekly rotating lease program. This means clients can experience many types of bonsai through the seasons. They see more variety than they might expect, watching how these living trees change throughout the year.

The company also works with brands like Nike and Vans. For Kojima, the Vans collaboration means something personal. “I’ve continued wearing it since I was 10 years old,” he says. “It wasn’t something I could do when I was involved in apparel, but now that I’m in the bonsai industry, it’s become possible for me.” These projects connect old techniques with current culture in ways that feel natural.

From his headquarters outside Tokyo, where skateboard designs sit near special bonsai specimens, to the Marunouchi location that serves as both shop and meeting space, Kojima has built places where traditional methods and modern life work together. During busy seasons from March through June, his work includes careful tasks like bud cutting and transplanting. Each tree gets the detailed care that real Japanese bonsai requires.

Tradmans shows how keeping traditions alive doesn’t mean keeping them separate from today’s world. By bringing together respect for old techniques and connections to current culture, Kojima is helping bonsai stay relevant and interesting for people who might never have considered it before.

Alfie Goodrich : PORTRAIT & INTERVIEW