Incense in Japan
Nihon Shoki, a book of classical Japanese history, gives the first formal record of incense in Japan when a log of agarwood, a fragrant wood used in incense burning, drifted ashore on Awaji Island during the Asuka period in 595 CE, and was presented to Prince Shōtoku and the Empress Suiko.
[4] The custom of burning incense was further developed and blossomed amongst the court nobility with the pastime of takimono, a powdered mixture of aromatic substances.
[5] Fragrant scents played a vital role at court life during the Heian period, robes and even fans were perfumed and poems written about them, it also featured prominently in the epic The Tale of Genji in the 11th century.
Samurai warriors would prepare for battle by purifying their minds and bodies with the incense of koboku; developing an appreciation for its fragrances.
In the late Muromachi period in the 16th century, this aesthetic awareness would develop into the accomplishment known as kōdō, which is the art of enjoying the incense of smouldering koboku.
During the Tenshō era in the late 16th century, the master craftsmen Kōju was employed at the Kyoto Imperial Palace and practiced incense ceremony.
During this time the “Ten Virtues of Kō” (香の十徳, kōnojūtoku) were formulated, which is a traditional listing of the benefits derived from the proper and correct use of quality incense:[7][8][9] Even today, there is a strong relationship and holistic approach in kōdō between fragrant scent, the senses, the human spirit, and nature.
At the start of the 20th century, mainichi-kō, or "everyday incense" was developed by the master craftsman Kitō Yujiro during the Meiji and Taishō era.
Other materials used are cinnamon bark, chebulic myrobalan, clove, ginger lily, lavender, licorice, patchouli, spikenard, camomile, rhubarb, safflower, star anise, and other herbs.
The high costs and difficulty in obtaining acceptable raw material is one of the reasons why kōdō is not as widely practised or known compared to the art of flower arrangement or the tea ceremony.
Sasaki Dōyō (1306–1373), who was regarded as a paragon of elegance and luxury and the quintessential military aristocrat during Nanboku-chō period, owned many incense woods and named them.
* Manaban comes from the word nanban which means "southern barbarian", and was brought to Japan by Portuguese traders with unknown origin.
Ostensibly the longest standing incense maker is Kungyokudo, established in the third year of the Bunroku era (1594), and originally operating as an apothecary serving the Nishi Honganji Buddhist Temple in Kyoto.
Nippon Kōdō was established by incorporation in New York City in August 1965 and is the largest seller of Japanese incense worldwide.
At the time, Ei was a military run trade port for the Tokushima Clan, which opened the door to the import and sale of raw materials used in making incense.
Players' determinations (and the actual answers) are recorded using genji-mon linear patterns, the elements of which allude to chapters in the Tale of Genji.
A variety of containers and censers, or kōro, made out of porcelain, wood, lacquer or other materials were created over the centuries for this purpose, such as kōgō, and kōbako, all of which can be supremely valuable items.
