Team
Our Team
Currently a founder-led venture. Team expansion is planned as the business grows.
Hiroshi Kogue
Founder
Hiroshi Kogue founded Root and Route in January 2026. His personal background in shamisen informs the company’s cultural mission: creating pathways for others to experience the depth of Japanese tradition without requiring years of formal training.
Based in Tokyo, he works full-time as a technology engineer at a global technology firm based in Tokyo and graduated from Doshisha University with a Bachelor of Theology. Root and Route operates as an independent venture bridging his technical expertise with cultural grounding.
The company tagline — “exploring the space between tradition and contemporary life” — reflects his belief that culture is never just background, and access should not require decades of classical study.