Olfactory Rescue Service

The first time I tried Seijudo’s Enju, one of three new Seijudo imports Ross reviewed here, I actually thought I was trying a sample form of Shoyeido’s Shokaku. Like that venerable and expensive incense, it was a black stick drenched in extremely high quality kyara oils and it was hard not be impressed. And in many ways the Shoyeido premium line is the easiest line to compare all of the Seijudo imports including the four I’m going to discuss today, because the Seijudos are very pricy incenses and they’re all aromas with very high quality aloeswood oils in front. Unlike the Shoyeido line, however, all seven of the current Seijudo imports are all black sticks and they all seem more shades of one personality than having the distinct and individual scents of the Shoyeido Premium line, where Ga Ho is as different from Nan Ku as two incenses could possibly be.

So in the first wave of Seijudo imports, courtesy of the venerable Kohshi, we witnessed what appeared to be the top three scents in the line, only for this newer quartet to slot right between the two Kyaras, Enju and Seiran, and the (surprisingly) most inexpensive scent Shiragiku. All seven scents come in two different sizes here, a very small, compact six stick “sampler” in a tiny little cardboard foldout virtually incapable of protecting the sticks from breaking without being really careful, and the more standard tube within a box that carries 24 sticks in 4 1/2 inch length.

I have to admit to having great difficulty with these incenses, because while they all use what’s obviously the most incredible aloeswood oils and seem to be as high quality as what you’d hope for given these prices, I also find them fairly difficult to tell apart from one another. I’m not sure if the heavy oil bases in the samples I worked from had faded some, or if this is just the nature of these scents, but over several sessions I noticed that even one of the small sticks could deaden my sensory perceptions quite fast to the point that subsequent evaluations of the others in line were made more difficult. I think it’s worth noting Ross’ quote in the above mentioned previous write up, “When I first smelled [Shiragiku] I assumed it was Kyara based.” I agree with this observation, and when you add in this new foursome, the whole line starts to look more like shades of a common theme than seven distinct incenses, it’s almost as if from Shiraguku to Enju, there’s just an incremental improvement in aloeswood quality along with variations in spices and other perfumes that only barely modify the central woodiness of the incenses.

Kohshu (Fleet of Scents) fills the tier just about Shiragiku and if Shiragiku played around with kyara like tendencies, Kohshu is more distinctly an aloeswood oil that one might think would fill this price range, with the bitter (pleasantly so I might add) end notes one might find in Tennendo’s Shorin, except executed as an oil scent rather than deriving its nature from the ground wood. The mix of spices in this one also tend to the greener, almost medicinal variety, which also sets itself apart from the Shiragiku. It’s such a potent, damp and intense oil scent that I found it overwhelmed by sense of smell for a while after, leading me to have to stagger subsequent evaluation sessions as it played havoc with the next scent.

Shogetsu (Pine Moon) seems almost a variation on Kohshu and as I just mentioned, it was very difficult to evaluate this scent on that incense’s heels. After time, I have to admit that I was finding it difficult to suss out Shogetsu’s personality, of all the incenses in this line it’s probably the woodiest. It’s missing the bitter afternotes of the Kohshu and doesn’t go for the damp, green spice mix, leaving the scent almost pure wood and slightly lacquerish, as if someone just added finish to a small table made of aloeswood. It’s description gives “deep and spicy scents” and I have no argument to make over the deep part, except that it might take a while to really get that part of the incense. I think that there’s perhaps so much aloeswood in this incense that it’s almost overwhelming. Of all these incenses, the jury remains out on Shogetsu.

By price, Nichigetsu (Daily Moon) is the highest of the three non kyaras in this line and seems to fill the spot most analagous to Ga Ho in the Shoyeido premium line. Like Ga Ho, this also plays with a much more drier aloeswood scent, almost anticipating the switch to the decadent sweetness of the kyaras. Like Shogetsu the strength of wood oils here is so intense that it gives the scent an almost lacquer or turpentine like finish to it, and even more so this has the scent of newly finished furniture glossed with polish. Again, it really seems like the potency of the wood oils had the tendency of blocking my impressions and I was left with the feeling that this seemd more like a slightly more deluxe version of Shogetsu. Undoubtedly without further evaluation I’d say one would probably need only one or the other at first.

If Nichitgetsu was Seijudo’s Ga Ho, than Kyara Horen (Lotus Treasure) must be its Go-Un and the analogy seems to work in that kyara seems more a part of the bouquet than the dominant force it is in Seiran or Enju. And as such it does seem to strike the middle ground between Nichigetsu and Seiran, having some of the drier qualities of the former and only a touch of the sweetness of the latter. However, where I felt a bit overwhelmed by the extreme woodiness inherent to Shogetsu and Nichigetsu, the balance here allowed the finer qualities to come through a bit more and there’s a definite floral oil in the mix that helps to give the scent a little more personality. I suspect this is part of where lotus comes into it, but I would think the delicacies of the lotus scent, which is often approximated, are somewhat cancelled out by the heavy wood oil.

Overall this is a very tough line to evaluate. There’s no question that some very fine wood oils are being used here across the spectrum and not only that but they’re based in the most fragile of stick sizes as if the creators were fully aware of the potency of aromatics going into the making of these. The fortunate side of all this, of course, is the small mini samplers, which should allow those who reach the price range to sample most or all of the range. In many ways I think these perhaps are the type of incenses that might be evaluated best on their own, that is, to pick one scent and keep with it. Indeed my favorite in the line might actually be the most inexpensive, Shiragiku, which also happens to be the one I’ve lived with the most. So this is probably yet again an example of a series of incenses that I might be even more favorable with a year or two for now. They’re all certainly good enough that I’ll probably eventually try the full tubes, but on the other hand if you’re looking at your pocketbook and wanting to know what to try at these prices, I might very well suggest something else … first.

Seijudo has been involved with incense since the mid 1800s. Much of it, apparently, as suppliers of raw materials. Judging from the quality of these three incenses they must have saved up some pretty deep stock piles of materials to use in making their own sticks.

Quite simply put these are amazing, two of them, the Kyara Enju and the Kyara Seiran are heavily Kyara based with that oh so wonderful smell in great abundance. The third, Shiragiku, I would have bet was also Kyara, but Kotaro at Kohshi has said this is not the case. It is however a great Aloeswood. I have seen incense shops write ups from Japan that wildly praise this line, with good reason. As one of my motorcycle friends says ” Man, these just RIP!”

Kyara Enju (Long Life) This has the classic Kyara scent in huge quantity as well as quality. Rich, deep and multi-leveled, not something for the casual moment, rather something to focus on and just let it take you away( why yes, there are aspects of the way of incense that are quite similar to the way of the stoner 😮  ) Really this is superb. It is pretty much what most of use have been taught to be the “real” or “best” Kyara scent. A little goes a long way, very potent. Not to be missed.

There are a lot of comparisons that can be made with Shoyeido’s Sho-kaku (Translucent Path). To my nose they seem very much alike. But since I do not have a stick of Sho-kaku handy I will have to rely on memory. In Japan this seems to win out, but I do not think my nose is so well trained or sensitive to be able to tell which might be “better”, which is most likely a personal preferences call.

Kyara Seiran (Heavenly Orchard) Perhaps a bit lighter in scent ( but not much ) with tons of that Kyara/musk perfume mixed together with a huge wood presence. Somewhat easier to deal with in that it is not quite as dominating as the Enju. Still captivating though, something to be savored for a special moment. There is mention of different kinds of Kyara in this mix, purples and yellows besides the green. Having never knowingly smelled any of them (in other words, that were labled as such) I can not say for sure. But whatever, it is a really beautiful mix and borders on being psychoactive.

Shiragiku (White Chrysanthemum) This is, in some ways, the most interesting to me. When I first smelled this I assumed it was Kyara based. Kotaro at Kohshi says its aloeswood ( and since he is and can read Japanese I am going with his call ). That being said, there is a very distinct resemblance to the two Kyaras mentioned above, for a lot less money. It is a little less smooth, not as strong yet still really good and very lovely. A great buy and a really classic scent. I highly recommend this one, especially as a place to start your journey into high end Japanese incenses.

I read a review from a store in Japan that said basically this company had decided to make these with the best materials they could get for as long as the supply held out. These are all really wonderful and priced so one can actually afford them, especially the Shiragiku (White Chrysanthemum). Thank you Kohshi for bring this into the US!

-Ross