In the recent years, there are many incense products on the market that are marketed as "kynam incense" or "kyara incense", of which many consumers are easily convinced to make a purchase without reading the fine prints. It seems that the Japanese ... [Read More...]
Ever tried to burn a scoop or a mound of incense powder (sandalwood, agarwood etc) in a saucer or an incense burner and not have it combust to completion, often smouldering, smelling charred and too smokey? That happens because of the ... [Read More...]
Both scent and taste are sensed by a family of transmembrane proteins known as G-protein coupled receptors. But sparing you the boring science, I thought that this article could be a good follow up to the Rikkoku post I had last week, where agarwood ... [Read More...]
The Rikkoku Gomi set was first assembled around the 15th Century with the establishment of a formalized “way/art” of the Incense by founder Sanjonishi Sanetaka (1455-1537 AD), a noble under the Muromachi Shogunate of Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa. ... [Read More...]
Kneaded incense was thought to be brought into Japan by Buddhist Monk, Gan-Jin around 750 AD. From its introduction in the midst of the Nara Period (710 AD to 794 AD) to the Hei-an Period (794-1185), kneaded incense gained immense ... [Read More...]
My website administrator had informed me that there had been quite some traffic to my website from Singapore! It excites me to know that there are potentially people in Singapore whom are into incense/agarwood/fragrances! If you are from ... [Read More...]
The art of making kneaded incense balls dates back over a thousand years ago during the Chinese Tang Dynasty and the corresponding Hei-an period in Japan. Prior to usage in incense culture, honeyed pills (练丹) made from combining medicinal herbs with ... [Read More...]
The philosophies and ideals of the way of incense is very seldom talked about in online media (perhaps also due to the lack of translations?). Most of what is being said about the Way of Incense (ko-do) is generally process orientated, on how to heat ... [Read More...]