Jeepney Press / Alma Fatagani-Sato

Fragrant Olive Flowers (Kinmokusei) By: Alma Fatagani-Sato

Autumn is the best season for me in Japan. Autumn foods like matsutake, persimmons, gingkoes, pears, sweet potatoes and many others. It’s the season when the air starts to become chilly and cool. But something that I really look forward to is the smell of ripe peaches or apricots scent exuding from the fragrant olive flowers otherwise called as Kinmokusei in Japan.

Within Japan, the white and yellow-orange-blossoming subspecies are distinguished as ginmokusei (silver osmanthus) and kinmokusei (gold osmanthus"), respectively.

It is the "city tree" of Kitanagoya, Aichi Prefecture and Beppu, Ōita Prefecture, and the "town tree" of Yoshitomi, Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. Its scientific name Osmanthus comes from the Greek words for fragrant (osme) and flower (anthos), is a species native to Asia from the Himalayas through South China to Taiwan, and Southeast Asia as far south as Cambodia and Thailand. It comes in different colors and varieties. In Japan, the flowers bloom during the Autumn. In other countries, they also bloom in Spring, depending on the species.

Aside from the good scent, there are various ways the flowers are used. In North India, the flowers also use to protect clothes from insects. In China, they use them for making herbal tea, desserts, jams, etc.

Long time ago, most Japanese would associate the scent of kinmokusei for incense sticks and bathroom fresheners. But nowadays, there are many items mostly beauty products that are sold all over Japan.

About mid-September, many shops start selling kinmokusei products like hand and body creams, perfumes and colognes, face mask, air fresheners, aroma oils, even jams and teas.

Around this time of the year, just try to take a walk in your neighborhood and most likely, you will smell the scent of kinmokusei.

Photo by Naoyuki Sato

Photo by Naoyuki Sato

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