Timothy Han Edition Perfumes The Decay of the Angel1 was inspired by the novel of the same name by Yukio Mishima. It is the fourth novel in Mishima's The Sea of Fertility cycle. In The Decay of the Angel, a wealthy, retired judge, Shigekuni Honda, adopts a handsome (but bad-to-the-bone) teenager, Tōru Yasunaga, who Honda believes is the reincarnation of a friend who died young. Honda wants to save Tōru from an early death — evil, sadness and humiliation ensue.
In college, I fell in love with Japanese Buddhist art. Studying Buddhist sculpture led me to Japanese literature and films. I dutifully paid attention to (read and watched) Mishima and Akira Kurosawa; they were spoken of and written about more than other Japanese writers and filmmakers of their time periods. I appreciated each man's talents, but over the years I came to prefer the writing of Yasunari Kawabata and the films of Yasujirō Ozu, Kenji Mizoguchi and Mikio Naruse (who directed one of Kawabata's best-known works: The Sound of the Mountain). Mishima and Kurosawa left me 'cold,' unmoved. Or to quote Mishima from The Decay of the Angel: "Tōru's pale, finely carved face was like ice. It conveyed no emotion, no affection or tears."2
Still, in preparation for this review I thought I would read The Decay of the Angel. Again, Mishima couldn't make me CARE, but since today's fragrance aims for a hint of angelic/godly decay, what are the signs that an angel is past his prime? According to Timothy Han Edition Perfumes (comments within parentheses are my own):
"The fragrance is based on the 5 stages of a falling angel:
STAGE 1 | Decay (the angel's flowers wither)
STAGE 2 | Diaphoresis (heavy sweats)
STAGE 3 | Dirt (filthy robes)
STAGE 4 | Dissatisfaction ("I hate my existence!")
STAGE 5 | Darkness (eyesight wavers, the holy light fades)"
To these I will add:
STAGE 6 | Smelling like smoked ham
The Decay of the Angel goes on smelling like a cold slice of ham, ready for some good bread, mayo or mustard. There's the haze of a Virginia smokehouse in The Decay of the Angel's opening; then a hearty neroli appears (it seems augmented by menthol or an abundance of pungent citrus peel oil).
The heart of The Decay of the Angel is a muddle, in the best possible sense of that word; I detect incense, cade, syrupy (but indistinct) flower aromas and an accord that reminds me of the scent of ripe quince. As the perfume enters its final stage, an expensive-soap accord develops, with oud and cedar predominant. Patchouli, de-fanged (certainly not 'decayed') rounds out The Decay of the Angel experience.
The Decay of the Angel is O.K., but where's the rot, the sweat, the 'soil' and darkness? Nowhere to be smelled, at least with my nose. BUT: ham is flesh on the verge of decay.
Timothy Han Edition Perfumes The Decay of the Angel Eau de Parfum is available in 60 ml. In the US, you can find it at Luckyscent or Twisted Lily; in the UK at Roullier White.
1. Listed notes of neroli, mandarin, rose, ylang ylang, sambac jasmine, acacia, frankincense, cade, oud, cedar, tonka bean, patchouli, cistus labdanum.
2. Chapter 3, pg. 3: The Decay of the Angel by Yukio Mishima, Vintage International/Vintage Books, a division of Random House, © 1974 and 2002. Translation by Edward G. Seidenaticker.
Note: top image by Gosia Sobczak for Timothy Han Edition Perfumes The Decay of the Angel, illustrating Stage 5/Darkness.
Thank you, Kevin, for your wonderful review. I adore your writing.
I never heard about this one before, but I’d like to smell something based on Akutagawa Ryunosuke stories 🙂
Veronika, thank you! The literary possibilities seem endless, don’t they?
I’ll take fresh out of the oven bread. Hold the ham.
Also, I love the fact you fell in love with Japanese Buddhist Art. I admire smart people. Alas, I fall in love with things like frozen yogurt, Root Beer flavored beer, anything with four legs, and the odd unexpected cool breeze. Pretty certain I would not fall in love with this perfume. Thanks for the review (and saving me money!)
Your comment made me smile in agreement! ????
Petunia: orange cats RULE!
HA, you’re welcome. Four-legged creatures are a favorite of mine, too. I swear some day I’ll get a couple donkeys!
I’ll have to try this one. When I was trying CdG Black, a few people told me out sneaked like barbeque in the top notes. I however loved it enough to buy a full bottle. Who knows, maybe I can layer them!
I’m with you on Mishima. His writing made me cringe. I’d much rather curl up with Kawabata’s palm-of-the-hand stories. My friend was reading a reprinting of his final manuscript and she couldn’t make it through. Glad to know I’m not alone.
Coumarin: you are certainly not alone. And that “smokehouse” note is popping up in all sorts of fragrances the last couple of years…LOTS to choose from.
I liked it but I much preferred On The Road from the house.
Michael: this was the first one I’ve tried…maybe some of the others will find me.
… *and* On The Road had that ham odor already. Overall they seem to share the characteristics. When I went back to my notes I was surprised how much I liked it, didn’t remember that. So I will have to test this one too.
Thanks Kevin for this great review!
M3000, you’re welcome. It was interesting to have ‘ham’ as the opening in this.
???? Yikes!! Who in their right mind wants to smell like a honeybaked ????? Hope I don’t offend any one. ????
P.S. I must admit, I didn’t see stage 6 coming. Made me ????
Laura…there was no honey on this ham, but maybe you’ve given someone a great idea for a flanker!
I just really love your reviews Kevin. And orange cats do rule!
Amy, ha! Thank you…and Teddy Calzini, my orange tabby thanks you as well.
Hame and quince? Pass me the smelling salts, please.
I also preferred Kawabata.
Cazaubon…you are right…tis that time of year for quince in cooking
Ham huh? Intersting note in perfumery 🙂
Clarissa, let’s call it a ham accord, shall we?
How fresh are we talking when it comes to this ham smell? I ask because after cadaver labs and observing surgeries, the distinction between the smell of recently cooked ham and reheated wow-that-smells-like-a-dead-pig became really important to how palatable I find pork. If it’s leaning toward the latter, decay might not be too far off the mark…
Anyone else out there have the same reaction?
rayleighblue: ha! I’ve not eaten ham in decades, but certainly remember its flavor and smell. The “ham” in this is fresh and “cold”…not at all overripe.