History
My perfume is not meant to dress the person, nor is it meant to rely solely on appearance. It is something that brings out and influences a person’s attractiveness.
Satori Osawa from “The Scent of man Interview”
Born in Tokyo on December 2, Satori Osawa spent her childhood walking around with a pocket botanical illustrated book in hand, bringing home plants and flowers from the path whenever she returned home from school. Her mother and grandmother were both flower arrangement teachers, so she was familiar with flowers and plants, and this was one of the main motivations for Satori to become a perfumer.
Her mother was also a tea ceremony master, and the scent of hot water boiling from charcoal and the scent of incense seem to have remained strong in her childhood memories of fragrance. Also, the first perfume in her life was Nina Ricci’s Capricci, which her father bought on his way home from a business trip when she was 16 years old. Incidentally, my mother used Rochas perfume.
One of the factors that led her to become a perfumer was a book that she found and read at home when she was in elementary school. It was “Perfume” written by Michihisa Katada, a perfumer at Shiseido who studied under Jean Carl. At the time, She was not deeply interested in perfume, but as she gradually became more and more interested in plants and essential oils, she began to feel that the perfume industry was the only place for her.
From the age of 12, he has studied Kado Sogetsu style flower arrangement and Urasenke style tea ceremony under hes mother, and has obtained Shihan and Chamei (tea ceremony name). She also studied Kado (Sanjo-Nishi Gyoke school).
I learned from the tea ceremony and flower arrangement that beauty comes from seeing “harmony within the whole”. Flowers placed in an alcove must match the furnishings of the room. I believe that the same consideration should be given to fragrances. I wanted to create a perfume that expressed flowers, landscapes, and emotions in the same way, with flowers as the main theme, but with a combination of top notes and supporting last notes that complemented the main theme.
ZUU Onlineインタビューより
In 1988, while opening an aromatherapy store in Tokyo, she studied perfume for her own business (developing a perfume line and running a perfume school).
In 1998, she studied in Japan under Kenji Maruyama, former chief perfumer at Firmenich and head of the Fragrance Laboratory at Takasago Fragrances (he is now head of the perfume laboratory at Promotool Inc.). In 2000 she opened a salon, and in 2003 started to present her collections under the brand “Parfum Satori”.
In 2009, she founded Parfums Satori Ltd.
Perfume should not be just another consumable. To wear perfume, one must have a mind that perceives beauty in the time and space it takes to wear it. The fragrance should not be the only thing that makes a strong statement, but rather, “be in harmony with your surroundings and be beautiful within the whole”. This is the Japanese sense of beauty.
Satori Osawa
Parfum Satori
Brand History
In Japanese culture, where people do not like to project themselves too much, a gentle, enveloping fragrance is more appropriate than a strong, diffusive one. I wanted to offer perfumes that would satisfy such Japanese sensibilities.
Therefore, when I launched my own brand, I thought through a perfume that would fit the mentality and lifestyle of the Japanese people. I placed importance on “subtlety” and “harmony. You may associate that with a “discreet and safe fragrance,” but that is not the case.
Satori Osawa
Founded in 2000, Parfum Satori has gone through many twists and turns, as there were few predecessors to the Japanese perfume brand at that time. We believe that it is better for you to see what Satori Osawa herself wrote about this rather than for this website to talk about it. Please take a look at the brand episode below.
Commitments
My scent is characterized in one word: dry.
Satori Osawa
It is natural that European perfumes would be several times stronger, darker, and longer lasting if they were applied directly in Japan.
This is because they are made to stand out in the European climate.In Japan, when people who dislike perfume say that perfume is too strong and intoxicating, it is not because of the perfume, but because of the way it is formulated for the West.
Unless a fragrance is formulated in Europe for sale in Europe and in Japan for sale in Japan, it cannot be truly suited to the local market.
Satori Osawa
Sometimes the theme is decided first, and the fragrance will work toward that goal, and sometimes it is a struggle to come up with a name that fits after it is finished.
Satori Osawa
There are two main ways in which I create a perfume: I start with an image of something I have seen somewhere that has moved me or inspired me, or I find an interesting raw material that inspires me to create something. The other is when I discover an interesting raw material that inspires me to create something.
Satori Osawa
We love flowers.
It is not only the beauty of the flowers that attracts us, but we love the coming together of the seasons.We are moved because we see hope in the fragrance of the plum tree that endures the winter, and because the cherry blossoms make our hearts flutter with the arrival of spring.
I feel that the theme is guided by these joys as well.
Where there is no emotion, there is no creation.
Satori Osawa
What moves people’s hearts is what is created in such a way, isn’t it?
Japan already has the soil to accept perfume as an art form. However, it may be difficult to develop a “Western perfume culture” that appeals to the sensual and fashionable. In order to nurture a “Japanese perfume culture,” we need perfumes that suit Japan and a way of wearing them. This is why I make Japanese-style perfumes.
Satori Osawa
Perfume School
My school is open not only for the purpose of training perfumers, but also for those who love fragrances and want to learn. However, this does not mean that the content is for amateurs. We have a practical educational curriculum that utilizes the know-how of Parfums Satori.
Satori Osawa
Satori has opened a wide-open school for aspiring perfumers since the brand was first launched. One of the most famous graduates of this school is Liberta Perfume’s CEO.
For various reasons, the school will not be accepting new students after 2021, and is scheduled to close in 2023.
English Blog Parfum Satori
Activity
I believe that a work of art is a “medium” that connects the “sender” (the artist) and the “receiver” (the viewer). The artist discovers the beauty that exists in the surroundings, expresses his/her impressions, and the viewer rediscovers them.
Art does not reside in the painting or sculpture, but in the inner self of the viewer. If the viewer does not have a sense of beauty, even an excellent work of art is a piece of junk.
Satori Osawa
In addition to his own brand, he has produced room mist for Franck Muller and once a perfume for L’Arc~en~Ciel’s HYDE concert goods. We will list our major achievements on this website, but if you would like to read more, click the button below to see more details.
E STANDARD
SUNTEC, which has been selling products for salons and drugstores for over 30 years, launched E STANDARD shampoo in September 2007, with a scent created by Satori Osawa. The original scent, which changes over time from top to last notes, was created with perfume in mind.
As this is a collaboration by one of Japan’s leading perfumers, there is considerable attention not only to the fragrance, but also to the ingredients and materials. For example, the main ingredient is not just purified water, but natural drinking water “Hita Tenryosui”. The fact that it is used as an amenity in five-star hotels is also a testament to its quality. (And the fact that it is not expensive is also a plus.)
She also works with SUNTEC Inc. to formulate fragrances for Nudy Aura hair care sold in drugstores.
Hotel Amenities
①The Peninsula Tokyo
The Peninsula has appointed a fragrance curator for each of its 10 global regions in 2020 to create room amenities with fragrances appropriate to each region. The Peninsula Tokyo’s amenity fragrance is by Satori Osawa. In New York, IFF perfumer Mackenzie Riley is in charge of the fragrance, and in Paris, Celine Burrell, also an IFF perfumer and famous for Tacit by Aesop, is in charge of the fragrance.
We hope that this fragrance will help to create a pleasant and comfortable atmosphere that will put the guests of The Peninsula Tokyo at ease. This is a fragrance that combines the universal sensibility of love for nature with uniquely Japanese characteristics.
Satori Osawa
②HOTEL THE MITSUI KYOTO
HOTEL THE MITSUI KYOTO opened in front of Nijo Castle in Kyoto in November 2020. under the brand concept of “EMBRACING JAPAN’S BEAUTY”, Satori Osawa created the scent for the reception and bath amenities.
Society of Perfumers
Satori Osawa is one of the few Japanese members of the Association of Perfumers of France, founded in 1942, which has over 900 professionals in the perfume industry, including marketing managers and production managers in addition to perfumers.
International Perfume Museum of France
On November 13, 2019, the Musee International de la Parfumerie in Grasse became the first independent Japanese perfumer to have a “Satori” tea urn-shaped perfume in its collection.
