Country of origin: Japan
Japanese Perfume Brands
Japanese perfume buyers once had their country called a 'desert for perfumes', and they still prefer subtle scent. That is changing: young people are buying more, many now own several perfumes, and department stores are giving fragrance more room, The Japan News reports. The Japanese houses below include Issey Miyake, J-Scent, Kenzo and SHIRO.
14 houses 416 perfumes
The perfume market in Japan
Japanese buyers have long preferred subtle scent; there is even a term, 'scent pollution', for a smell that is too strong, and for years that held sales back. The pandemic changed that, as people tried fragrance at home, and many young people now own several. Department stores have followed. Matsuya Ginza doubled its perfume floor in 2022 and deliberately stocks scents that are not too strong, and in 2024 the store said about 40% of the customers at its perfume counters were men. Makers sell mini bottles and monthly perfume subscriptions to bring newcomers in.
In figures
- ¥54.7bn predicted size of Japan's perfume market in 2024, more than 30% up on 2020. The Japan News (Yomiuri)
Designer 8 houses
Niche & Independent 6 houses
Perfume from Japan, in numbers
Of the 416 perfumes from Japan with a verdict, 61% are Favourites, 27% Statements and 12% Acquired. Favourite, the most common, is our mark for a broadly appealing, versatile scent.
The notes that turn up most often across 416 perfumes from Japan, with how many of them use each:
Of the 14 houses, 8 are designer and 6 niche or independent.
Launches run from the 1990s to the 2020s, and the 2010s were the busiest decade, with 200. We know the launch year of 99% of these perfumes, and count only decades with at least 10 launches.
The houses from here that readers look up most are Issey Miyake, Kenzo and J-Scent, and the most viewed perfumes are L'Eau d'Issey Pour Homme Eau de Toilette by Issey Miyake, Le Sel d'Issey Eau de Parfum by Issey Miyake and Le Sel d’Issey Eau de Toilette by Issey Miyake. That is our own page views, not sales.
Questions about perfume from Japan
Which houses count as being from Japan?
Those based there, as recorded on each brand page, whatever their tier: designer, niche and independent, Arabian or anything else. A house whose country we have not recorded appears on no country page, and a house is listed once it has at least one published perfume.
