I’ve been getting my incenses and stuff from Japan directly for quite a while, and KohGen’s one of my most favourite online shops. They have a very large product range, a reasonably easy to use checkout page, and very fast processing of your orders. I had also arranged for gifts to be sent to friends,… [Read More…]
Perspectives on the Rikkoku Gomi
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. Without the benefits of modern logistics, and being more isolated from the rest of the world, agarwood import… [Read More…]
Making Kneaded Incense Balls – Neri-Koh
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 honey, and sealing off with wax, was a common practice in Chinese medicine. The… [Read More…]
Comparing Jinkoh and Kyara
A summary of the comparisons between normal aloeswood and kyara/kynam in a table. Enjoy!
Japanese Incense types
Japanese Incense types can be classified into two main categories, 熏香 (heating incense), or 焚香 (burning incense). A smaller third category exists, where incense or fragrant materials are not heated nor burnt at all, with the fragrance appreciated in the raw form. In the category of heating incense, a piece of red hot charcoal… [Read More…]
Enjoying Kyara through Mon-Koh
Mon-Koh is loosely translated as “listening to incense” from the Japanese language. Kyara is best enjoyed using Japanese “mon-koh” methods, where a red hot coal is buried under ash in a ceramic cup, with a small ventilation hole prodded to provide air to the coal, and a slice of clean mica place on top before… [Read More…]