Launched in 1919 by the House of Guerlain, Mitsouko is a classic fragrance with an earthy heart of oak moss and peach. The fragrance sets a standard for chypre parfums that others have since tried to duplicate. Yet Mitsouko, which means "myster" in Japanese, remains utterly unique, cloaked in an air of sensuality. The fragrance is an homage to the heroine of a popular novel of the time, about the impossible passion of a beautiful Japanese woman and a Britis officer during the Russian-Japanese War at the turn of the 20th Century.