Pale yellow to colorless liquid with woody-citrus odor
Producing Countries
Japan
Pyramid
Base
Clean, citrus-woody with a spa-like serenity. Hinoki oil smells like a freshly cut Japanese cypress plank left in a steam room — lemony, warm, resinously clean.
Opens citrus-fresh, almost lemon-verbena-like. The woody heart is clean, creamy, and warm — softer than Western cypress, less sweet than sandalwood, more transparent than cedarwood. There is a subtle spa-like quality — clean steam, warm wood — that is uniquely hinoki. The dry-down is quiet, woody-clean, and gently balsamic.
Evolution over time
Immediately
Immediately
Bright citrus-fresh opening, lemony and clean. Immediate spa-like quality.
Quiet woody-balsamic base. Gentle, clean, persistent on skin.
Terroir & Maturity
Indicative 2025 wholesale prices.
The Full Story
Essential oil distilled from the wood of Chamaecyparis obtusa, the Japanese hinoki cypress. The oil is pale yellow with a characteristic clean, woody-citrus aroma that is deeply embedded in Japanese culture and aesthetics.
Hinoki oil has a unique profile: it opens with a bright, almost lemony freshness (from terpinyl acetate and alpha-pinene), then develops into a warm, creamy-woody heart. It is cleaner and softer than Western cypress (Cupressus sempervirens), less sharp than cedarwood, and more transparent than sandalwood. The key compound hinokitiol (beta-thujaplicin), though present at low concentrations, contributes antimicrobial properties and a subtle medicinal quality.
In perfumery, hinoki oil represents the Japanese aesthetic of 'shibui' — understated elegance. It is used in clean-woody, meditation-inspired, and minimalist compositions where warmth without heaviness is desired. The scent is strongly associated with traditional Japanese bathhouses (onsen) and temple architecture, where hinoki wood has been used for over a millennium.
Ise Grand Shrine, Japan's most sacred Shinto site, is rebuilt entirely from hinoki wood every 20 years in a ceremony called 'Shikinen Sengu.' The current cycle began in 692 CE and has continued unbroken for over 1,300 years, using approximately 10,000 hinoki logs per reconstruction.
Extraction & Chemistry
Extraction method: Steam distillation of the heartwood, typically from sawmill waste and timber offcuts. Yield is approximately 1-2%. Production is almost exclusively Japanese, centered in regions with historic timber industries (Kiso, Yoshino). The best-quality oil comes from old-growth wood, which has higher sesquiterpene content. Hinoki is a protected species in Japan; harvesting is regulated and much of the oil comes from sustainably managed plantation wood.
Pale yellow to colorless liquid with woody-citrus odor
Specific Gravity
0.903–0.930 @ 25 °C
Refractive Index
1.497–1.507 @ 20 °C
In Perfumery
Heart-to-base note in clean-woody, Japanese-inspired, and meditation compositions. Hinoki oil provides warm, transparent woodiness without heaviness. It works as a cleaner alternative to cedarwood and a less expensive substitute for Japanese hiba oil. In woody-citrus constructions, it extends the freshness of citrus notes into the woody phase. Works with yuzu, shiso, vetiver, and incense notes. The molecule hinokitiol also appears in cosmetic formulations for its antimicrobial activity.
