Akiko Kumai

was a Japanese writer and researcher focusing on potpourri, known for introducing the fragrant decoration to Japan. She was married to the Japanese film director Kei Kumai.

Biography Akiko Kumai was born in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, in 1940. After high school in Nagano, she graduated from Shinshu University, where she studied education. She was inspired to study potpourri after reading about it in a Japanese translation of Chronicles of Avonlea.

Through her work as a researcher and writer, she first introduced potpourri to Japan, prompting a boom in the fragrant decoration's popularity in the early 1980s. She was well known for her essay series . She also explored scent in other literary works, such as The Tale of Genji. The couple collaborated on the book , with photographs by Kei and commentary by Akiko. In 2024, at age 84, Akiko Kumai died in Tokyo of coronary artery disease.