On January 19, 2026 (Monday), Nippon Olive Co., Ltd. (headquarters: Setouchi City, Okayama Prefecture; President: Yoshiro Hattori) released a concept booklet titled "Olive & Orthodoxy: Olive and the Orthodox," featuring an original cover illustration by Mari Yamazaki, the renowned manga artist and writer behind "Thermae Romae" and "Plinius." While olive products in modern times tend to emphasize "health" and "functionality," this booklet deliberately avoids promoting efficacy or trends, instead returning to the fundamental role olive has played throughout human history.
To commemorate the publication, customers who purchase PLINI OLIVA products will receive a limited-edition clear file featuring Mari Yamazaki's original artwork on a first-come, first-served basis (valid until Saturday, February 28, 2026; limited to 1,000 recipients. Actual distribution may be more limited, and distribution conditions may change after the deadline).
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The True Value of Olive Lost with the Fall of Ancient Rome
Since its founding in 1949, Nippon Olive has conducted comprehensive research on olives not only from a scientific perspective but also through historical and cultural lenses. The newly published booklet "Olive & Orthodoxy" was created to reaffirm that olive, which today is strongly associated with "food," was in ancient Roman times "something applied to the skin for living well" and formed the foundation (orthodoxy) of human life. The cover features an original illustration by Mari Yamazaki depicting Pliny the Elder, the ancient Roman naturalist who praised olive as "Earth's blessing" in his work "Natural History." Yamazaki also contributed a foreword to the booklet.
Message from Mari Yamazaki on the Cover Concept (excerpt from booklet):
"The great Pliny would surely be delighted to know that, far away in time and place, excellent products are being created that fill our bodies with life force, and that his name is being used for them."
■ About Mari Yamazaki
Manga artist, writer, and painter. Visiting professor at Tokyo Zokei University. Born in Tokyo in 1967. She moved to Italy in 1984 and studied art history and oil painting at the National Academy of Fine Arts in Florence. In 2010, she received the 3rd Manga Taisho Award and the 14th Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize Short Story Award for "Thermae Romae." She received the 2015 Art Encouragement Prize for New Artists from the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. In 2017, she was awarded the Order of the Star of Italy, Commendatore. In 2024, "Plinius" (co-authored with Tori Miki) received the 28th Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize Manga Grand Prize.
Her works include "A Life Without Borders," "Steve Jobs," and "More Thermae Romae."
Ancient Wisdom Interpreted Through Modern Science: The True Value Lies in Using the Whole Olive
The brand name "PLINI OLIVA" derives from Pliny, the sage of ancient Rome. Focusing on the historical practice of ancient Romans applying olive to their bodies at bathhouses, this brand reconstructs the comprehensive value of the entire olive tree in a contemporary way. Beyond just oil, the brand utilizes the full bounty of the olive tree—including fruit juice, leaves, and fermented olive ceramides—with olive as the primary ingredient. The brand incorporates "B-olivol," a unique fermented ingredient created from olive leaves. Simply apply it to damp skin after bathing to condition skin prone to dryness.
Company and Olive History
During World War II in 1942, Kazuichiro Hattori, the head of a prominent merchant family in Okayama Prefecture, was requested by the military to "convert the mountain into a sweet potato field for food security." However, he refused, stating "It would harm the land and destroy the landscape." Instead, he cultivated and planted olive trees, which were virtually unknown in Japan at the time.
Nippon Olive Co., Ltd. was established in 1949. In 1992, the company opened its own olive grove in Tortosa, Spain, the world's leading olive-producing country. Today, the company operates as a producer managing 10 hectares with approximately 2,000 trees in Ushimado and 45 hectares with approximately 3,100 trees in Tortosa, cultivating, harvesting, and processing olives. The company conducts basic research on not only olive oil but also fruit juice and leaf extracts, and develops and sells quasi-drugs, cosmetics, and food products.
Company Overview
Company name: Nippon Olive Co., Ltd.
Location: 3911-10 Ushimado, Ushimado-cho, Setouchi City, Okayama Prefecture 701-4302
Representative: President Yoshiro Hattori
Founded: 1949 (olive planting began in 1942)
Business: Manufacturing and sales of cosmetics, food products, and seedlings
PLINI OLIVA Official Website: https://www.plini-oliva.jp/
Nippon Olive Official Website: https://www.nippon-olive.co.jp/
