In the way way past I covered some of what is called Nippon Kodo’s Exceptional Line. There’s the interesting Mori No Koh gift pack and then Kyara Kongo and Kyara Taikan. All of these incenses sort of bridge the gap between their massive, overall, and largely inexpensive modern lines and the Superior line, the latter of which I covered a bit with Kyara Heian. Let’s face it, there’s no incense company on the planet more liberal with the word “kyara” than Nippon Kodo are, quite frankly if you haven’t dipped into a Superior you might not think there is any in their incenses, including the ones I am going to discuss today.
The bottom line and as most people familiar with Japanese incense know, Nippon Kodo is a more populist company, maybe something like the Wonder Bread or Budweiser of Japanese incense. They create a lot of incenses that are very affordable for consumers and their Morning Star line is hugely popular, so far be it for me to lay into it. The best thing about popular incenses is none of those really need a blog to discuss them. But it is fairly puzzling how far into the line and how expensive you have to go to get anything really authentically kyara about their incenses. But before we dip into the two kyaras we have to mention as well that even the sandalwoods can be confusing in Nippon Kodo’s catalog.
The bottom line is that Ume Komon might boast as premium sandalwood, but there’s really nothing authentic about it at all. It’s no less a perfumed incense than most of Nippon Kodo’s line and quite frankly I’d probably enjoy the scent more if it just didn’t bullshit you with a promise. It’s not an awful incense, I mean it doesn’t have the types of bitter and off notes so many lower brand NKs have, but it is still just as perfumed as anything else in the line and it’s this sort of muddiness that seems to come nowhere near sandalwood that really makes you scratch your head. The little green sticks actually remind me a little of Shoyeido’s Floral World or Incense Road sandalwood sticks except even those felt like they weren’t a floral in disguise (well at least in part for the former). It’s all quite puzzling and I would guess if you burn more than an inch or two of this at once it will start to fatigue. And you also have to take into account that these burn really really fast.
So let’s hop up the Exceptional Quality list a bit past the Kyara Kongo and Kyara Taikan mentioned earlier to Kyara Kiku Botan. Unlike the other “kyaras” in this line there doesn’t appear to be an option for a bulk box or long box, all that is available is the three-slotted gift pack with the little burner. It has been many years since I tried the Taikan last but Kiku Botan seems to be like a light level up from the sweetness of that scent. There appears to be a bit more attention paid to making this somewhat woody, although if you’re familiar with other NK incenses then you can also spot their base aloeswood scent in this mix here as well (it’s actually subtitled as a “premium aloeswood” so I believe its fair to say that it’s where this is really pitched). At least with this scent you feel like NK are truly going for something with woody qualities although once again, it’s hard to justify anything approching real kyara. Good green kyara is somewhat delicate and complex and while this does seem to go for some overall perfumed kyara note, it’s a lot louder and feels a bit more contrived. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a bad incense in the slightest. There’s quite a bit going on with it when it comes to having multiple elements of its bouquet and that already raises it above the Kongo and Taikan. But it’s still a perfumed incense and not even as authentic as the old Tokusen Kyara Taikan used to be. I think if you’re the type to stay away from NK in particular there’s nothing here to rope you in, but I still find this enjoyable on its own merits.
Kyara Momoyama is another step up the ladder and it also has a long-stick version in a wooden box that places it almost at the foot of the Superior range at $290. Since this is actually equivalent in price to the old Gokuhin Kyara Taikan, this is essentially an incense considered more superior than the Tokusen Kyara Taikan which I actually really liked and fairly well lament its deletion. As you move up the range, it’s not as if these incenses get less perfumed so much as the perfumes tend to get a lot better. And at least here I feel the range is starting to get where it at least feels legit. Momoyama is certainly comparable to either the Tokusen or Gokuhin Kyara Taikan. The wood oils in this are starting to feel like actual wood oils rather than trickery. They’re of course not at Heian level at this point, so the reaction is more oh that’s nice rather than having steam come out of your ears and of course like most NK’s there’s some level of sweetness that’s likely to get in the way for wood appreciatiors. But this is still a very nice incense indeed and easily the most enjoyable in the entire Exceptional line.
Olfactory Rescue Service 
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