“Bonsai” or tray planting, which had been classified into a field of hobbies for aged men, has gained a considerable reputation as a global brand mostly popular among a number of overseas people.
Yasubumi Iimura is carefully checking branches of Bonsai trees to meet strong demands in the global market. (Kawaguchi city, Saitama prefecture)
Kawaguchi city in Saitama prefecture is one of the biggest production areas of garden plants in Japan, which has a 400-year long history. The city is well known as “a town of Bonsai” to lots of Bonsai lovers in foreign countries. Many international buyers directly visit the city to purchase various kinds of Bonsai.
Some of Bonsai tree growers in Kawaguchi are shipping more than a half of their products to overseas markets.
The World Bonsai Convention is to be held at Saitama city, neighboring to Kawaguchi city, in April 2017 for the first time in 28 years.
Yasubumi Iimura, 75, a Bonsai meister, who has operated a Bonsai marketing company named “Kiraku-en” for 45 years, is also increasing exports of Bonsai.
More than 50 percent of his marketing turnover is occupied by overseas sales growing by almost 10 percent every year around since 2010.
In recent years, he has increasingly received Asian visitors, including Chinese buyers. It is not unusual for him to have an Asian customer paying as much as 1.5 million yen to purchase many Bonsais at once.