Kinmokusei 金木犀

I have become a bit obsessed with this tree in Japan called Kinmokusei (金木犀), also known as sweet olive.  It is a species of Osmanthus native to Asia.  It has a small, clustered, orange-yellow flower that blooms in late summer and autumn.  (I'm not a botanist; I looked this up.)  Perhaps because of the extraordinarily warm debut to autumn here in Kyoto it is blooming late.  

The fragrance from these flowers really is intoxicating, and I'm not one that normally uses such a term unless it is in reference to alcohol.  I've never smelt anything like it.  It is described as ripe peaches or apricots, but for me it is something sort of like a gardenia.  I first noticed not the tree, but the scent at the Manpuku-ji Temple last month.  I couldn't quite pinpoint the plant in the temple garden from which this delicious smell was coming, so I let it go.  For all I knew maybe it was the laundry detergent of the monks.

I caught a whiff of the same sweet bouquet a few more times on the street in passing.  It seemed as the weather finally began to cool this heavenly scent became more prominent.  It was everywhere.  I had to know what it was.  Like a crazy person, or a dog, I began sniffing around.  I finally figured out that it was coming from this small, not really beautiful tree.  Now I knew the source, but I still didn't know what it was called.  Mineko solved the mystery after I sent this photo to her.

I love Kyoto for many different reasons.  Now I have one more, for its sweet sweet smell in October.