DI SER

Di Ser’s visual motif shows a lotus flower reflected on the water, symbolizing the seen and unseen of this world and the world beyond. The lotus flower (which represents enlightenment) is like life — beautifully blooming from the muddy waters around it.

In describing the line’s culturally-derived philosophy of scent, the company notes, “In the past, on occasions when Japanese women went out, they would burn incense underneath their kimonos the night before to enjoy the subtle perfume the next day.”

Perfumer Yasuyuki Shinohara founded the company in 1999, as one part of two interconnected entities—a pharmacology arm, which produces herbal tea, incense, and other botanical products, and an agricultural research arm—and makes scents that blend both approaches. He and his team concoct small-batch, chemical-free perfumes out of native plants and materials used in the country’s centuries-old ceremonies. Many of them are grown on-site and showcase the possibilities of an olfactory world that intersects with a distinct sense of place.

Di Ser’s slow, science-centric approach is fundamental to the company, which spent 15 years perfecting a novel way of extracting kyara, the rarest and highest grade of agarwood, for use in one of its initial scents, marking the first time the ingredient was translated into a perfume. Di Ser also devised a sophisticated process for distilling essential fragrant compounds from the intracellular water and other fluids found inside its plants, guaranteeing less oxidation and a purer source material. Each experiment enhances a tangible connection to the ingredients.

Shinohara’s fragrance Hana Matsuri was awarded “Best Creation” in The IV International Perfume Competition–Mouillette d’Argent, Barcelona, Spain 2021.