Japanese Incense & Kodo

About this book

Kyara, rakoku, manaka — the grades of agarwood have names like countries, and for five hundred years Japanese listeners have judged them by five tastes. This is the complete English guide to that world: 200 entries covering the incense woods and spices themselves, the forms they take (sticks, coils, kneaded neriko, sachets, body powder), the makers and regions behind them (Awaji, Sakai, Kyoto and the great houses), the way of kodo with its schools and incense games, the history from the arrival of Buddhism to the modern gift counter, and a full practical part on buying, storing, lighting, blending and care.

Every entry follows the same four fields — Origin & Tradition / Material & Making / Scent & Character / Experiencing, Buying & Care — so woods, makers and rituals can be compared side by side. The book is honest about what fragrance writing can and cannot do: it teaches you to tell kyara from a bargain imitation, to build ash and bury charcoal, to read a label and a season, and it makes no health promises, presenting such beliefs as the traditions they are. Written and produced in Japan.