The 15th International Fragrant Rose Trial in Echigo Hillside Park, Nagaoka, Japan
Details of the result
The International Fragrant Rose Trials is held every year by inviting applications of new fragrant roses fromrose breeders not only in Japan but all around the world. All the applied nursery plants are planted and broughtup for two years under exactly the same condition in the snowy and cold region of Japan. Then, examination
session is held twice every spring and autumn by the Judging Committee comprising of experts of roses andfragrances to decide the award winning varieties.
The winning prizes are Gold Award, Silver Award and Bronze Award each for the specified four criteria. Inaddition, as special awards, Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Award is presented tothe highest score winner among the Gold Award Winners, Niigata Prefectural Governor’s Award is presented
to the highest score winner in the fragrance section among the winners of Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards,and Nagaoka City Mayor’s Award is presented to the most popular variety among the general guests to thepark.
<< Prize Winner Details and Judges’ Comments >>Judging Committee Chairman :Yoshihiro Ueda (Visiting Professor, Gifu International Academy of Horticulture)
We received a total of 49 entries in the 15th International Fragrant Rose Trials, with 22 Hybrid Tea(HT) entries, 14 Floribunda (F) entries, 11 Shrub (S) entries, and 2 entries in the Miniature (Min)category, characterized by many entries in the HT category. This year, we experienced a severe weather
condition for the roses with an unusually long period of rain in August after the end of the rainy season
followed by lingering summer heat. For roses grown under these conditions, we awarded one Gold, one
Silver, and one Bronze for each of the HT, F, and S categories, and one Bronze for the Miniaturecategory. In addition, the Nagaoka City Mayor’s Award was awarded to the one selected from the S
category by popular vote of the park visitors.
Partner was the Gold Award winner in the S category and the recipient of the Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Award. It is a variety with rosette blooms that transition fromapricot to coral-pink in color and has an unprecedented characteristic of high resistance to rain, heat andcold.
Perfume Dress, the Gold Award winner in the HT category, is a beautiful and striking variety withsemi-sharp petal blooms of a gentle pink with a hint of blue.
Aya, the Gold Award winner in the F category, is a generous bloom variety with quartered reddishpurple rosette and received high scores in fragrance. Strawberry Swing was the winner of the Niigata
Prefecture Governor’s Award and the Silver Award in the F category. It is a variety with pale-pink,round-petal, plump cup blooms and received high scores in fragrance in terms of both strength andquality.
Hazy Moon in the S category, the winner of the Nagaoka City Mayor’s Award, is a variety with lemonyellow rosette blooms transitioning to quartered blooms. It was most popular among the park visitors
most likely due to the refreshing color and the gorgeousness of the flowers.
<< Prize Winner Details and Judges’ Comments >>Judging Committee Deputy Chairman : Yuji Ichikawa (Perfumer)
We received a total of 49 entries from Japan and overseas for the 15th International Fragrant Rose
Trials. This year, although the low temperatures in early spring and the prolonged rains and lingering
heat in summer were severe, we were blessed with relatively good weather in autumn. As a result, aswith last year, we were able to select a total of 11 award-winning varieties in four categories: threeGolds, three Silver, four Bronze, and one Nagaoka City Award.
Partner was the winner of the Gold Award in the Shrub category and the Minister of Land,
Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Award for the highest overall score. It has a fruity fragrance
described as “an impressive fruity fragrance with peach and apricot notes and an elegantly sweet black
tea leave-like aroma.”
Aya, the winner of the Gold Award in the Floribunda category, has a fruity fragrance described as “afruity fragrance with prominent peach and apple notes on top of a honey-like sweet Damask fragrance.”
Strawberry Swing was the winner of the Silver Award also in the Floribunda category and the Niigata
Prefecture Governor’s Award for the highest score in the fragrance category. It has a Damask-Modern
fragrance described as “a Damask fragrance based on a fruity fragrance with blackcurrant-like acidity,
balanced with a calming black tea leave-like aroma and a honey-like sweetness.”
Perfume Dress, the Gold Award winner in the Hybrid Tea category, has a Damask-Modern fragrance
described as “a gorgeous Damask fragrance with a good blend of a clove-like spicy aroma and a honeylike sweet aroma.”This year, there was no entry worthy of the Gold Award in the Miniature category.
Finally, Hazy Moon in the Shrub category, which won the Nagaoka City Mayor’s Award by popular
vote, has a black tea fragrance described as “an expansive black tea fragrance with a harmonious blendof a pineapple-like fruity aroma and an anise-like aroma characterized by greenish sweetness.”
1Category : HTs, Grandifloras
Gold Award
Entry No.12
Variety : Perfume Dress
Breeder : Rosen Tantau KG - Germany
Flower : Gentle pink with a hint of blue, semi-sharp petal blooms. The petal undersides are darker in color.
Fragrance type : Damask-Modern
A gorgeous Damask fragrance with a good blend of a clove-like spicy aroma and a honey-likesweet aroma.

Silver Award
Entry No.8
Variety : Dressy
Breeder : Tetsuya Sakurai - Japan
Flower : White with a creamy core, closely packed blooms. The petal edges are lobed.
Fragrance type : Damask-Classic
A Damask fragrance with an apple-like fruity aroma and a refreshing hyacinth green aroma.

2Bronze Award
Entry No.13
Variety : Crème de MEILLANDⓇ
Breeder : Alain Meilland - France
Flower : White with a touch of soft pink, high-centered, sharp petal blooms. The leaves are glossy andthick.
Fragrance type : Myrrh
A myrrh fragrance with an elegant black tea leave-like aroma and an anise-like aroma characterized
by greenish sweetness.

Category : FGold Award
Entry No.23
Variety : AYA
Breeder : Hirotatsu Aoki - Japan
Flower : Reddish-purple, rosette to quarter blooms.
Fragrance type : Fruity
A fruity fragrance with prominent peach and apple notes on top of a honey-like sweet Damask
fragrance.

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Silver Award
Special prize :Niigata Prefectural Governor’s Award
Entry No.32
Variety : Strawberry Swing
Breeder : Fuminori Nukariya - Japan
Flower : Pale-pink, round-petal, plump cup blooms. The petal undersides are darker in color.
Fragrance type : Damask-Modern
A Damask fragrance based on a fruity fragrance with blackcurrant-like acidity, balanced with acalming black tea leave-like aroma and a honey-like sweetness.

Bronze Award
Entry No.31
Variety : Ajourée
Breeder : Makiko Kawamoto - Japan
Flower : Pale-pink, rosette blooms. The petal tips are notched and wavy.
Fragrance type : Damask-Classic
A Damask fragrance with a blend of fresh hyacinth green and sweet honey-like notes.

4Category : SGold Award
Special prize : Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Award
Entry No.47
Variety : Partner
Breeder : Jérôme Rateau - France
Flower : Rosette blooms of which color transitions from apricot to coral pink as the blooming progresses.
Fragrance type : Fruity
An impressive fruity fragrance with peach and apricot notes and an elegantly sweet black tea
leave-like aroma.

Silver Award
Entry No.45
Variety : Savon
Breeder : Makiko Kawamoto - Japan
Flower : A beautiful white rose with a touch of pale pink, round-petal, medium cup blooms.
The stamens are red.
Fragrance type : Myrrh
A myrrh fragrance based on a Damask fragrance with a honey-like sweetness, blended with astimulating anise-like aroma.

5Bronze Award
Entry No.46
Variety : Jules Verne
Breeder : Takunori Kimura - Japan
Flower : Yellowish salmon-pink, rosette blooms.
Fragrance type : Tea
A distinctly refreshing black tea fragrance with a fresh rosemary-like aroma and an apple-like fruityaroma.

Special prize : Nagaoka City Mayor’s Award
Entry No.38
Variety : Hazy moon
Breeder : Sakuji Kokubo - Japan
Flower : Green buds turn lemon-yellow with pale outer petals. Rosette to quartered blooms.
Fragrance type : Tea
An expansive black tea fragrance with a harmonious blend of a pineapple-like fruity aroma and ananise-like aroma characterized by greenish sweetness.

6Category : MinBronze AwardEntry No.48
Variety : Angel eyes
Breeder : Tomiko Kogane - Japan
Flower : Yellow-green buds turn bright pink and then white. The outer petals are yellowish green. Rosetteblooms.
Fragrance type : Tea
An elegant black tea fragrance with a hint of clove-like spicy aroma.

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The 15th International Fragrant Rose Trial in Echigo Hillside Park, Nagaoka, Japan（Echigo-IFRT）◆Guidelines for Applications
1. Eligibility for Applications：Breeders both professional and amateur, in Japan and overseas.
2. Acceptable Rose Varieties:(1)Varieties that have never been on the market within or outside Japan, or varieties that were first made available forsale on or after January 1, 2016.
(2) Categories of Acceptable Rose Varieties:
Part 1: Large-flowered Roses (HTs, Grandifloras)
Part 2: Floribunda Roses (F) (to be the family of "cluster-flowered roses")
Part 3: Shrubs(S)Part 4: Miniature Roses, Mini-floras, Patio Roses, and Polyanthas(Min)
Climbers are excluded from any of the above categories.
(3) The Number of Entries: Limited to a total of four varieties per single breeder.
(4) The Number of Trees per Variety:For each variety, three 2-to-3-year-old bare-root trees, either budded, grafted, or self-rooted.
3. Entry Fee : Free of charge◆The Periods of Judging: June and October, 2021
◆Judging and Commendation:
Chairman: Yoshihiro Ueda（Visiting Professor, Gifu International Academy of Horticulture）
Deputy: Yuji Ichikawa（Perfumer）
Kokichi Komita（President of Niigata Rose Society）
Naoki Ishikawa（Honorary President of Niigata Rose Society）
Naoharu Watanabe（Professor Emeritus, Shizuoka University）
Yuki Mikanagi（Curator of Herbarium, Natural History Museum and Institute, Chiba）
Hideko Ishiguro（Rose researcher, Director of Ishiguro Music Academy）
Minobu Maekawa（Garden Designer）
Naomi Okubo（Assistant leader, Materials Development Group at Institute of Vegetable and Floriculture Science, NARO）
Johji Nishio（WFRS International Judges Committee / President of Machida Rose Society）
Yushi Terazima（Perfumer）
Atsushi Joichi（Perfumer）
Kazuhisa Murakami（Director of Echigo Hillside National Government Park Office）◆Prizes: Gold, Silver, and Bronze Award for each category.
◆Special prizes: Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Award (Top Award)
Niigata Prefectural Governor’s Award
Nagaoka City Mayor’s Award◇Breeders : 27breeders◇The number of varieties : 49Varieties (HTs-22, F-14, S-11, Min-2)◇Participating nation : Japan, Denmark, France ,U.K., Germany, Netherlands8