Japanese Incense

Buddhist monks brought incense to Japan in the Sixth century for use in their purification rites. The use of incense was taken up by the Japanese Imperial Court. It was not until the Muromachi era in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth centuries that lower echelons of society came to share in the Court's appreciation of Koh (high quality Japanese incense) but gradually Koh-Do or incense appreciation became part of the spiritual and cultural fabric of Japan. The making of Koh became a more and more sophisticated craft calling for natural materials from far distant places to produce ever more subtle and exquisite fragrances. The tradition continues to the present day.

The Japanese incense we sell is mostly made by hand. The natural gums and resins from precious woods and floral ingredients are loaded into vats where they are mixed with other organic raw materials. They are then loaded into machines which extrude the long strings of incense resembling spaghetti through a cluster of tiny holes. The incense sticks are then cut evenly and laid out neatly in wooden forms in a drying room where the moisture and temperature levels are controlled by a system of wooden shutters and windows. At no time are any chemicals or inorganic substances used. The formulas used in these blends are a closely guarded secret passed on down the family line for centuries and which the present owners have sworn not to divulge.