Satori appear in the magazine [WAKASA SEIKATSU]
From Magazine "WAKASA-SEIKATSU (March 2008)"
Perfumer Satori Osawa
"Fragrance: to keep your heart graceful and healthy"
One of Satori Osawa, freelance perfumer,'s favorite flowers is "the Rose". Having once the experience of growing them in her own garden, she claims the Rose Fragrance is a very gift from nature. Here is an exclusive interview between Kenichi Kakutani, President of Wakasa-Seikatsu, and Satori Osawa, digging down about "Roses".
Kadoya: I have heard that you were into the aromatherapy fragrance business way back since the term was not as common as it is now in Japan. It sounds like a wonderful occupation with such grace and dream.
Satori: Thank you for your compliment. Nowadays, people enjoy fragrances in various ways. Back then, we used to connect the term "perfume" directly to overseas brand perfumes, which always left me with a personal wish back in my mind: "To create a perfume that would fit the Japanese climate, body smell, and atmosphere". This was the reason I have started my salon "Parfum Satori", a foothold to suggest my original fragrances. Now I create custom made perfumes according to the different needs and tastes. Besides individual orders, I have also worked in collaboration with musicians and fashion brands.
I use around 500 kinds of raw materials to make my perfumes. Those materials are carefully blended until the last perfect image is concretely built. I also hold perfume classes for people who wish to learn more about the world of perfume and create their own fragrance. By teaching, I have found that Japanese people have a very delicate and unique sense of smell.
Kadoya: When has your passion for fragrance begun to grow?
Satori: I was a botanic lover since I was a child. My interest in flowers and plants kept me busy on my ways back home from school, searching, in a little botanic dictionary I would always keep in my pocket, for their names and characteristics.
Kadoya: In order to become a perfumer, I suppose you need to have a particular olfactory sense.
Satori: I am often asked this same question, but that may not be the case for all perfumers. The olfactory sense can be trained. I never miss my daily training, which also helps me develop my sensitivity as a perfumer.
Effectiveness of the Rose
Kadoya: I visited the Bulgarian National Rose Research Center last year where I was introduced to a Rose Oil that was extracted 60 years ago. I was astonished by the techniques that aloud it to stay as strong and steady.
Satori: The conditions of old fragrances, including antique perfumes, mainly depend on distillation and preservation methods. If properly maintained, they can avoid big damages and keep their fragrance.
Kadoya: Do you personally like the rose fragrance?
Satori: Of course I do. I love its fragrance and the flower itself is very attractive. It gives me energy to live. I think very few people would disagree with me. Its appearance is gorgeous, and its aroma, full of grace. In aromatherapy, rose is prescribed for symptoms suffered by women such as irregular menstruation. It is known to balance the hormone levels and ease the nerves. As a widely loved flower, there are many legends surrounding the rose.
Kadoya: When I went to Bulgaria I visited the "rose valley". As the name describes it, the field and the air were filled with bloomed Damascena Roses and its graceful scent.
Satori: Bulgaria is famous for the rose festival. I was once invited by the Bulgarian Ambassador of Japan and had the chance to visit the country during that season. Hand massage therapies, flower arrangements, performances using papers etc... everything was associated with the rose. It was a spectacular day. May I ask you what the intention of your visit was?
Kadoya: One of our products "Sophia Rose" is a drinking supplement made from a top quality Bulgarian Damascena Rose Oil. Out of 20 million kinds of rose in the world, Bulgarian Damascena Roses are known to have an exceptional scent. I wanted to see with my own eyes the quality of our products' ingredient.
Satori: A variety of brand new rose species we call "modern roses" were created along the way, but Damascenas, Gallicas, Albas, and Scent folias, are called "old roses" because they are very close to the original rose and are usually used as ingredients of Rose Oils. They might not be visually as gorgeous as the other ones cultivated for contemplation, but they have a unique charm and I personally like them very much.
Growing flowers with love and care
Kadoya: What impressed me the most at the rose valley was the gracefulness and sensitivity qualities of the rose scent floating in the air. Flowers scents are the strongest when they start to bloom, and soon disappear as the morning mist is gone. That is why the flowers are picked by hand before dawn and quickly carried to the distillation factory. I now understand that only under such a thoroughgoing management and hard work can the world's highest quality fragrance be maintained.
Satori: In all floral fragrances, the Damascena Rose Essence is considered a very important material. It can easily play the leading role; so to say it has such power that a little amount is enough to enhance the fragrance and add some natural floral sweetness.
Kadoya: I agree that it is so world-widely recognized. Obviously Bulgaria's climate, rain ration, and soil quality are the preconditions in order to make such fragrance. I have heard that you used to grow roses yourself.
Satori: Yes. In order to grow fragrant roses, some very particular preparations are necessary. Roses need daily care. I have heard that people growing them precisely according to a cultivation calendar can hardly leave home even for a short trip. I struggled a lot too when I was growing mines. But when the flowers successfully bloom after all the patient hard work, it is unbelievably rewarding and wonderful to work in the garden surrounded by their beautiful scent. It is a nothing but a gift from nature.
Kadoya: I think this patient hard work done with such love and care is the essence and key to create excellent fragrance.
The habit of enjoying elegant fragrance
Kadoya: More and more people today enjoy fragrance. Recently I have found that it is also attracting the attention of lots of men.
Satori: Yes, I also feel the interest of men have increased lately. I have a male clientele looking for unique fragrances, relaxing fragrances...
Kadoya: We often hear the word "aging note", which might also be a reason for their interest.
Satori: A lot of them start to worry about it attaining their 50's and 60's, and get interested in perfumes, but they still seem to be a little shy and hesitant about it.
Kadoya: Yes, some of our male customers have started taking our products with the push of their wives and daughters.
Satori: That's a very good opportunity. I personally think perfumes can really be enjoyed only after a certain age. I often have the chance to visit Paris, where I like to spend my free time in parks, wonderful classrooms teaching me so much, about color coordination for example. There is a park in Saint-Germain that I used to go everyday during my stay. As I was enjoying the freshness of the day in there, a charming gentleman would pass through every single morning, bending down to smell a rose. He was obviously not only enjoying the appearance of the flower but also its fragrance. I felt that in France, similarly to fashion, the culture of fragrance is deeply rooted into people. I have heard that even some children get to wear a light eau de cologne after their bath.
Kadoya: Very interesting. A naturally mastered etiquette can be so inconspicuous and elegant. My last question is: As a fragrance missionary, what are your future dreams?
Satori: I would like to keep creating and introducing fragrances with a healthy mind and inner reserves for the enjoyment of beauty. Same as clothes, fragrance is part of fashion. The person wearing it should benefit from it. I sincerely wish the fragrance culture in Japan to keep extending, by suggesting fragrances that would perfectly harmonize the total balance of the person.
Kadoya: Thank you very much for your wonderful fragranced talk!
