Hana Matsuri

Full disclosure I met Mr. Shinohara in his essentia shop in Sapporo, what an incredible person. And he gave me a thorough run through of his offerings and I have to say Hana Matsuri is absolutely beautiful. To my nose it’s an floral incense with woody and a touch of oud backbone, simple yet complex and paints great imagery. It truly does smell like a old rainy temple with sakura trees around it, showcasing elegance and maturity. Definitely not mainstream appeal, it has an animalistic and oak moss feel that takes time to appreciate, and the sakura inspiration is a beautiful mature sakura rather than sweeter/cheaper ones I seen other brands do. Highly recommend checking this one out.

Hands down one of the most beautiful and transportive scents I've ever tried. This is my favorite from Di Ser (including Kyara and Sasora in that statement,) and this bottle is my go-to for days where I need a constant dose of fresh air lingering in my lungs. It smells rainy and damp to me, like a cup of tea on an old wooden porch as the smell of freshly-soaked woodland permeates the air. The sakura is there, but in a way that adds greenery and depth to it all. I love it so very much.

I was surprised to find out that this fragrance is inspired by sakura because it smells as deep/dark & green as the juice itself! The scent is predominantly oakmoss, violet leaf, vetiver, and todomatsu (a fir from Hokkaido), creating a jungle sensation—similar to the cheaper & bolder Moss Gown by Providence, with a lot more subtleties & a unique Japanese sensuality—one of his best & more complex works!

A scent that recreates the olfactory ambience of the Japanese flower festival in honor of Lord Buddha, Hana Matsuri is a unique floral woody chypre in the traditional DI SER minimalist natural perfumery style. The scent opens with notes of citrus, yuzu, pepper and a prominent pine. The floral heart has a dominant cherry blossom surrounded by slight hints of jasmine, magnolia and crushed violet leaves (giving the scent its greenish hue). The perfume settles on a woody powdery base of oakmoss, vetiver and slight oud. The unisex scent clearly has at least three transitions through its wear of about six hours. It is reverent and muted, but also delicately beautiful. Not the best of the line, but a very solid and relatively complex offering from this very fine natural perfumery house. Enjoy!

Opened very oud, animallic kind of dirty, and sharp mint like pine. I can sniff a bit of yuzu sweetness and light floral as if the blossom were across the street and down the block waggling hello with its petals. This is about 90% tree, and 'green' rather than blossom which is almost vintage in it's elegance, and obviously smells like high quality ingredients. However, it's misleading with a cherry tree inspiration. Perhaps more 'in real life', as cherry trees don't smell like juicy fruit candied perfumes but if pretty pink Japanese youthful femininity is what you're looking for, this isn't it.