Kōdō

Kōdō includes all aspects of the incense process, from the tools (香道具, kōdōgu), to activities such as the incense-comparing games kumikō (組香) and genjikō (源氏香).

The word 道 dō (written with the same character as Chinese tao/dao) means "way", both literally (street) and metaphorically (a stream of life experience).

[citation needed] According to legend, agarwood (aloeswood) first came to Japan when a log of incense wood drifted ashore on Awaji island in the third year of Empress Suiko's reign (595 CE).

Kōboku, fragrant wood combined with herbs and other aromatic substances, was burned to provide incense for religious purposes.

[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.

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 kōboku.

Some depended on the memorization of scents, some involved sequences that held clues to classic poems, and some were merely a matter of identifying matching aromas.

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:[6][7][8] Even today, there is a strong relationship and holistic approach in kōdō between fragrant scent, the senses, the human spirit, and nature.

Another important material is sandalwood (白檀 byakudan), which originates primarily from India, Indonesia, southern China or other parts of southeast Asia.

Other materials used are cinnamon bark (桂皮 keihi), chebulic myrobalan (诃子 kashi), clove (丁子 choji), ginger lily (sanna), lavender, licorice (甘草属　kanzō), patchouli (廣藿香 kakkō), spikenard (匙葉甘鬆 kansho), camomile, rhubarb (大黄 daioh), safflower (紅花 benibana), star anise (大茴香 dai uikyo) and other herbs.

The high costs and difficulty in obtaining acceptable raw material is one of the reasons why kōdō is not as widely practiced or known compared to the art of flower arrangement or the tea ceremony.

One of the oldest traditional incense companies in Japan is Baieido, founded in 1657 with roots going back to the Muromachi period.

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.

The aim is to let the aroma of the material infuse the body and soul and "listen" to its essence in a holistic manner, as opposed to just reducing it to smelling.