What future is this rising star of the apparel industry drawing near?

This series follows Dentsu Inc. 'Company Design' team as they uncover the secrets behind vibrant companies with 'originality.' In the 21st installment, we learn the essentials of transforming society through business from KAPOK JAPAN, which is bringing a fresh breeze to the apparel industry.

Before the interview, I pored over everything from articles about KAPOK JAPAN President Yoshitaka Fukai to his notes and Twitter posts. While his talent and achievements as a startup CEO were certainly impressive, what intrigued me most was this feeling: "What is it? This person just seems to naturally draw people to them..." And I wasn't mistaken. Their crowdfunding campaign shortly after founding far exceeded its funding goal. Today, people from diverse professions and expertise gather at KAPOK JAPAN as side-hustle talent, supporting the business.

"I'm not what you'd call a 'one-man president' type," President Fukai says with an uncomplicated smile. He's not being modest; it's a company built on having teammates, on sharing the ups and downs with them. The image of President Fukai on the PC screen was smiling throughout. His occasional bursts of Kansai dialect were also incredibly charming. Glancing at my prepared interview notes—I wanted to ask this, then that—I found myself driven instead by the urge to capture that very charm. It felt like the greatest appeal of the apparel material derived from the kapok plant, which President Fukai had spotted, and the brand bearing its name, lay precisely there.

Written by: Hajime Yakushiji (Dentsu Inc. BXCC)

KAPOK JAPAN: Operating the fashion brand "KAPOK KNOT," which creates products using the wood-derived material "kapok," under the mission "Delivering sustainable and functional materials worldwide." With the concept "Blur the line," it blurs various boundaries—between city and nature, producer and consumer, old and new—offering a pleasant lifestyle that learns from the strengths of both.

The "Two-Way Approach" Holds the Key to Success

President Yoshitaka Fukai is a true blueblood, with his great-grandfather being the founder of the long-established apparel manufacturer Futaba Shoji. Even after launching the startup "KAPOK JAPAN," he remains a "dual-career" individual involved in the family business. However, as the interview progressed, it became clear that the "dual-career" approach President Fukai practices is distinct from that of Miyamoto Musashi or that famous Major Leaguer. We'll unravel that distinction later in this article. First, I asked him about the moment he thought, "This is the real deal!" regarding KAPOK, a new material made from the cotton fibers of a tree native to Southeast Asia. "At first, I just thought it was kind of interesting," he said. "But when I actually saw the product (the sheet cotton), I instantly knew with my gut that this was the real deal."

Yoshitaka Fukai: After graduating from Keio University in 2014, he worked at a venture real estate firm and a major textile manufacturer before joining Futaba Shoji Co., Ltd., the family apparel business founded 75 years ago. Questioning the apparel industry's reliance on mass production and mass disposal, he encountered kapok at the end of 2018 and felt destined to pursue it. He established KAPOK JAPAN in January 2020.

Usually, you go through trial and error until you think, "This is the one!" But with Kapok, the precision was high from the start. "I measure precision based on three things: the product itself, the business potential, and the social impact. The first two are just basic business sense, right? It's when you add social impact that you think, 'This is the one!' Kapok had that."

As one example of social impact, President Fukai pointed to nurse uniforms made from "stretch fabric." "Nurse uniforms aren't typically made from stretchy materials. Why? Because they're sent to specialized laundry services. Stretch fabrics tend to shrink when tossed into a washing machine that agitates vigorously. But nurses sometimes have to take naps while still wearing their uniforms. How nice would it be to sleep in a soft, comfortable uniform? Hearing that feedback, we decided to take on the challenge. I believe this is also an example of 'social impact.'"

Products, business potential, social responsibility. I believe these three elements are universal in manufacturing, says President Fukai. "In the era of mass production and mass consumption, it was enough to focus solely on products and business. But today, you hear people say outdated management that ignores social responsibility won't cut it. That's not right. For example, when my grandfather founded the company, there was simply a shortage of clothing. As a manufacturer, he struggled to find a way to solve that problem. The result was the ability to mass-produce. Isn't that a great form of social responsibility? The idea often criticized today – 'just make cheap, shoddy products without considering society, as long as your own company profits' – that wasn't the case even back then. Maybe I can say this because I've always watched my grandfather's back."

President Fukai's words grow passionate when discussing the first-generation president of Futaba Shoji (89), who remains active today. A glimpse of determination and confidence as the future fourth-generation leader shone through. This was distinctly different from the "dual-career path" I'd imagined before the interview. So, what exactly is this "kapok" that captivated President Fukai?

Kapok is a cotton-like material derived from the seeds of a tree primarily harvested in Southeast Asia. It is gaining attention as a sustainable material that requires no tree felling, offering eight times the lightness of conventional cotton while possessing moisture-wicking and heat-generating properties.

Slow down, hurry up!

One of kapok's biggest selling points, being a plant-derived material, is its contribution to sustainability. President Fukai states, "People (customers) won't be moved by altruism alone. No matter how much you emphasize how kind it is to the natural environment, they won't empathize. People naturally have self-interested aspects too. So, I thought, let's create something that truly resonates with those customers (laughs)."

According to President Fukai, the desire to create products that are eco-friendly and contribute to sustainability first took root when he was in elementary school. This motivation also led him to join a major textile materials manufacturer. Since then, he has deepened his expertise through his work. At age 25, he joined Futaba Trading, the family business. While deeply immersed in his work, he discovered kapok. "I immediately invited a college classmate, and the two of us flew to Indonesia. That was July 2019. Just three months later, we launched the brand 'KAPOK KNOT'."

Looking back, President Fukai says he believes acting without hesitation and flying straight to the source was the right move. "The local experience, support from my family, and many friends all contributed. I felt, 'Yes, this can work!' Of course, it was tough from there. Raising funds through crowdfunding, securing raw materials, establishing import routes... that sort of thing."

He took a concept he'd been carefully nurturing since age 10 and, once he decided to act, shaped it into reality in just three months. This tempo—this balance of "careful deliberation" and "swift execution"—is remarkably dynamic. It might also be called a "two-way talent" quality.

A scene from the kapok plantation in Indonesia. KAPOK champions "Farm to Fashion," valuing every step from sourcing raw materials to delivering products to your hands. They want to understand who thinks what, how they think, and how everyone is involved in creating the product, and they want to deliver it to customers themselves. That's the sentiment behind this phrase.

The secret to capturing customers' attention lies in the order you convey a product's appeal.

"Sustainability" is at the core of the KAPOK KNOT brand. However, borrowing President Fukai's words, how do you actually sell products to customers who, as he puts it, "won't be moved by altruism alone"? We asked him about this.

"In a nutshell, it's about deciding the order in which to convey the appeal. First comes functionality. Second, design. Third, sustainability. The feeling is that they buy the product because they like it, and then discover the sustainability aspect comes with it. That way, there's no stress, right? Rather, they feel happy, thinking, 'Ah, my eye for products was right after all.' If you reverse that order, it becomes, 'Ah, no thanks, I don't need that.'"

The showroom in Nihonbashi. At the time of our visit, it was filled with the 2022 Autumn/Winter collection.

Blurring the Boundaries

President Fukai says there's one more crucial thing needed to gain empathy from various stakeholders, including customers. "Suppose there are two groups: sustainability advocates and skeptics. Both sellers and buyers inevitably create a 'wall of division' between them. But I don't think that leads to a major movement."

President Fukai introduced me to the unfamiliar phrase "Blur the line." Blur means to make something indistinct. Literally, it means to blur the boundary lines. Many people feel that "drawing a clear line" is the clean approach, and those who give vague, evasive answers tend to be disliked. "That's not the point. It's not about zero or one, choosing one side or the other. It's about accepting the in-between, the ambiguous state. For example, it's perfectly fine to have days where you prioritize sustainability and days where you don't. Within that, people and society gradually change. I believe my role is to provide the environment and systems that enable that."

According to President Fukai, the key is "thinking about how to lower the cost of participating in the project, not the cost of the product itself." It's about tearing down the wall between the affirmative and negative camps and instead creating a "gradation plaza" that isn't a binary choice. That is the approach to society envisioned by President Fukai, the "two-way player."

KAPOK's philosophy is also embedded in the tags attached to each individual product.

The most crucial management decision is setting the "time horizon"

"And this is the most crucial thing for a manager..." President Fukai continues. "Above all, I believe the most important thing is setting a 'time axis' for both inside and outside the company. To define this time axis, dubbed the '75-Year Vision,' I once created a chart like this. The horizontal axis marks the 150 years since Futaba Shoji's founding. The vertical axis lists items like function, design, business plans, and projected revenue. We plot anticipated future events onto it. By doing this, I believe the precision and resolution of our vision and purpose improve, and I'm certain we'll gain the support of our employees and society."

President Fukai himself stands at the center of that chart—in the "present." "I don't do things that don't need doing. As a single manager, I'll bloom the flowers demanded by the times and our customers at each moment, up to 75 years from now. What should I do right now to make that happen? That's all I think about."

This is the unwavering commitment to the future that comes from inheriting a long-established family business, combined with the momentum for social change characteristic of a startup. Flexibly harmonizing multiple opposing elements to create values that transform society. I felt I glimpsed the reason why diverse people continue to gather around President Fukai.

The brand name combines the material KAPOK with KNOT, meaning "knot," becoming "KAPOK KNOT." The logo design features a water ribbon motif symbolizing "lasting bonds."

Visit the KAPOK KNOT homepage here.
(2022AW pre-orders begin sequentially starting Thursday, July 7! Information is available via the URL above)

Season 2 of the series where Dentsu Inc.'s 'Company Design' team explores the secrets of 'vibrant companies' with 'originality'. Episode 21 introduced the aspirations and secrets of startup companies, as seen in 'KAPOK JAPAN', which is bringing a fresh breeze to the apparel industry.

Season 1 articles can be found here:
The "Company Design" project site is here:

[Editor's Note]

At the end of our interview, we posed this question about "luxury" to President Fukai: "What I'm asking about isn't so-called luxury goods, but rather 'luxurious time'. For example, what I consider most luxurious is 'being able to forget about money'. If you're constantly thinking about money, even if you end up with stacks of cash worth hundreds of millions of yen, it feels like you're dedicating your life to money, and that's not really luxury, right?"

After a moment's thought, President Fukai replied: "There are two things. One is truly feeling 'contentment.' After working hard all day, going to the sauna with friends, then having a drink with yakitori at a red lantern bar after the bath. I think, 'Ah, there's no greater luxury than this.' The other is that becoming president has allowed me to talk business on equal terms with my grandfather, who has been my idol since childhood."

I had resolved never to write about this pun, but it's a deep (Fukai) story. When President Fukai discusses his management philosophy, the concept of "time" often comes up. He makes decisions without hesitation and acts immediately when the present moment is crucial. At the same time, he reflects daily on the distant future, 75 years ahead. While I deeply respect him as a leader, I couldn't help but think: what an incredibly luxurious use of time.