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Featured Essays

These essays represent the heart of Salon de Alpha.
Through plants, scent, and psychology, they explore feminine wisdom and inner life.
Our broader archive lives primarily in Japanese.

The Garden of Goddesses

The Garden of Goddesses — Women Who “Ate Flowers” in History

An essay tracing the quiet, sacred act of eating flowers across history — from ancient goddesses to women who carried botanical wisdom through ritual, beauty, and silence.

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Scent and the Brain

Scent and the Brain — How Aroma Shapes Emotion and Memory

How scent interacts with the brain, influencing emotion, memory, and the nervous system — bridging neuroscience and lived experience.

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Flower Essence and Psychology

Flower Essences and Psychological Perspectives

An exploration of flower essences through psychology, symbolism, and emotional resonance.

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Kōdō — The Japanese Way of Incense

Listening to Scent — The Aesthetic Art of Kōdō

An introduction to Kōdō, the Japanese Way of Incense. Beyond smelling, this tradition invites us to “listen” to scent — a quiet cultural practice of presence, refinement, and inner stillness, alongside tea ceremony and martial arts.

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You may use your browser’s translation feature to explore our full archive in Japanese.