Journal
Notes on incense
Notes
A Short History of Kōdō: From Driftwood to Ritual
Kōdō, the Japanese way of incense, begins with the tale of a log washed ashore on Awaji in 595 and took shape as an art in the Muromachi… Read
Notes
Oie-ryū and Shino-ryū: The Two Schools of Japanese Incense
Oie-ryū traces to the court noble Sanjōnishi Sanetaka, Shino-ryū to Shino Sōshin. Both grew out of the Muromachi period and are still taught today. Read
Notes
Kumikō: The Incense Guessing Game and Its 52 Patterns
Kumikō is Japan’s incense game in which players try to tell which scents match. Genjikō has 52 possible answers, each named for a chapter of the Tale of… Read
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The Ten Virtues of Incense: Old Praise for a Small Stick, Read Today
Kō no Jittoku, the ten virtues of incense, is a short Japanese list often attributed to the Zen monk Ikkyū. We read each line and ask what it… Read
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What Is Yūgen? The Beauty That Is Never Fully Said
Yūgen (幽玄) is a Japanese aesthetic term for subtle, profound beauty that is only suggested. From old poetry to Zeami’s Noh, and why we chose it as our… Read
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Wabi-Sabi and Handmade Ceramic Holders: The Beauty of Imperfection
Wabi-sabi is the Japanese view that finds beauty in simplicity, imperfection and the marks of time. A look through handmade glazed holders, no two quite alike. Read
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Quảng Phú Cầu: The Incense Village with a Century-Old Craft
Quảng Phú Cầu in Ứng Hòa, Hanoi, is an incense village with over a hundred years of craft, known for bundles of red-dyed bamboo sticks drying in the… Read
Notes
Khánh Hòa Agarwood: The Heritage of a Land Known for Trầm
Khánh Hòa has long been tied to agarwood, from legends of kỳ nam to the Agarwood Tower in Nha Trang. A careful look at the heritage and how… Read
Notes
Incense on the First and Fifteenth: Gentle, Sincere, Less Smoke
Many Vietnamese families light incense on the first and fifteenth of the lunar month. A gentle look at the custom, and how to keep it sincere and lighter… Read
Notes