Shoyeido / Overtones / Frankincense, Patchouli, Palo Santo

September 24, 2021 at 7:04 am (Frankincense, Incense, Japan, Mike, Palo Santo, Patchouli, Shoyeido)

Many years ago I did reviews of quite a few of the more affordable and baseline Shoyeido incenses. When I first started with most of the dailies, I liked quite a few of them, but found by the time I got to the end of the box I was fatiguing on every single one, top to bottom. Part of the reason for this is that most of Shoyeido’s more inexpensive incenses are sweetened up considerably. Whatever delicate notes any Daily (or Zen or Kyoto Moon etc.) have, they are nearly guaranteed to also have this sugary or candy like addition. Benzoin is usually ascribed to this sweetness and it shows up as a substantial ingredient in many of these incenses, including the first two of the three in question here. I’ll leave it up to the reader if they find it cloying, but I wanted to mention it here as well since it seems to be an element of the entire Overtones series as well. Strangely I don’t find a lot of benzoin resin particularly sweet (or at least as sweet as budget line Shoyeidos) so I wonder if its an absolute or essential distillation that intensifies it.

Anyway, in this case I started with an Overtones one stick sampler and then bought boxes of the three I liked the most. Right now these feel a bit of a break when I burn one, but I can easily see the fatigue coming because they’re all very sweet. But, unlike the line’s more thematic and traditional recipes, the Overtones series does appear to be going for single notes. For the most part they do get something fairly reasonable especially while retailing for just under $5 a box/roll.

Frankincense, then, is much sweeter than equivalent sticks at Minorien or Tennendo and a lot less truly frankincense as well. If you’ve ever tried an Incense Road Frankincense or maybe even a Xiang Do variant, you’re more likely to be familiar with the Shoyeido Frankincense profile, it’s a bit less like the resin and more like a sort of candied variant of it with a bit of cinnamon toast spice (both sandalwood and benzoin are also listed in the ingredients). Most users of the resin use it for its citrusy qualities, but you’re not really likely to find those here, it’s actually a bit more like a tea in some ways. It is very sweet and somewhat ambery as a result and is likely to be initially friendly to most users. I find it pretty pleasant as long as I don’t overdo it, but it’s like I said earlier, I worry a bit about how I’m going to feel by the end of the box. But so far so good, and it is fairly inexpensive enough to make it a low risk try. However if you have the budget to justify it I’d definitely go for an Incense Road first.

Palo Santo seems to be all the rage in incense these days, something I’m not sure you’d find if you go back ten years or so, but the wood seems to have made its way so far into incense scent profiles that you even see this South American wood in Japanese and Indian sticks now. It’s a fairly low cost wood overall, so you can rest assured almost anything is going to have some level of real note to it, but once again the Overtones line assures that even a sort of dry, resinous wood is going to be sweetened up a bit. Cinnamon and benzoin are also listed and it seems both are used to compliment or even out the wild notes of the palo santo to some level, but fortunately neither overshadow them and what is left probably entirely relies on whether you like palo santo and don’t mind the sweetness. The only thing really missing are some of the top notes of the more premium graded wood. Like with the Frankincense I’m still in my enjoyment phase, and feel that judicious use might not eventually overwhelm me. But I also like some of the cinnamon highlights in this, more actually than the Cinnamon Overtones stick itself.

It may not suprise you that the Overtones Patchouli is also sweet. However the thing I like about this stick is it doesn’t lose too much presence of the real herb. It might be that in saturating myself in Temple of Incense Patchouli Woods and the Absolute Bliss equivalent Patchouli Khus had tilted me way over to the experience of a less sweet earthy patchouli and so coming back to something sweeter may be not noticing or caring if its too sweet. But it also allowed me to recognize the real thing in this scent too, after all patchouli isn’t terribly expensive. So yes, as a designer, affordable patchouli, the Overtones is pretty decent. But like with the Frankincense, whatever sandalwood that’s in the incense is fairly well subsumed under the general aroma.

Overtones also include Sandalwood, Cinnamon, Vanilla and Tea Leaves. None of these really worked out for me in the end, but I didn’t out and out dislike them. It was more that as incense notes you’re not as likely to recognize the main ingredient as much, they felt a bit more like variations of the aroma. For example, you’re just not going to get a reasonable good sandalwood aroma out of a $5 box, it’s just going to be generically sandalwood-ish. You’re better off trying a Yamadamatsu low end for a few dollars more. The cinnamon felt like an affectation, the vanilla a bit too sweet and where I often like tea incenses this one just wasn’t for me. But hey there’s always a 7 stick sample, although one might need to directly request it from Shoyeido with an order.

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Shoyeido/Myo-kaku

June 13, 2021 at 10:34 am (Agarwood / Aloeswood / Eaglewood, Japan, Mike, Shoyeido)

Around the time I restarted ORS up again, Shoyeido announced they were discontinuing their three highest-end incenses. It might have been crushing news except that the prices on all three of these were practically stratospheric at this point. Like Nippon Kodo, Shoyeido incenses are largely heavily dependent on the oils and perfumes used in their incenses and it is likely wood shortages and related expenses brought a natural end to these formulas. For my tastes I actually prefer the #4 and #5 incenses (Ga-Ho and Nan-Kun) but even these two are now priced in the kyara range. But this isn’t to say the top three weren’t all marvels, in fact one of my favorite moments of running this site was when a benefactor graciously bestowed a roll of Sho-kaku on me as a gift. I made that last as long as I possibly could, half inch by half inch. Even now, that incense was a one of a kind experience, with an incredibly uncommon level of density. Of the old school, I believe I have about 8 sticks of an old box of Myo-Ho left, which will likely only be brought out on special occasions now. The discontinuation of these incenses definitely feels a bit like the end of an era.

As something of a replacement, Shoyeido created Myo-kaku (an obvious merging of the names of the first two) as their, now, top end. Like most Shoyeido appreciators, I awaited this new scent with baited breath. But I literally could not express my disappointment in it when it arrived. It was one of the first incenses I wanted to review, but I felt like doing so was wrapped up in the entire shift and it didn’t sit well. That is, if Myo-kaku was introduced as a separate incense in its own right without these connections to the end of what are essentially infamous incenses then perhaps it wouldn’t have felt like such a let down. But it wasn’t only that, but the roll was still kyara priced and the scent not even remotely in the quality range of at least Ga-Ho and Nan-Kun and maybe arguably the great Misho. And certainly not in the ballpark of other companies’ kyara incenses at the same price range. So instead of expressing my discontent, I shelved it for a bit. I wanted to do it justice.

Overall the issue is that it’s a $500 roll of incense (on sale!) and yet it is just simply not in that league. Consider that you can get a box of Minorien Kyara Ryugen for $330 for around twice the value and not only that Ryugen is a much, much better incense (I’d even argue it’s a world classic). I linked Myo-kaku (above) to Japan Incense because I don’t see it currently being offered at the Shoyeido USA site. Japanese incense is usually priced accordingly, you might find some great incenses cheaper but it’s pretty rare to see a kyara-priced incense that doesn’t live up to its high end billing. If I were to review the incense on its own and say you could pick it up for under 3 digits then it would probably be easy to sing its praises. I also mention Ryugen because while they are two different incenses, the black stick and tendency towards a dry, more aristocratic aloeswood blend is similar (only to the short Ryugen stick, not the long one). But actually Myo-kaku reminds me a bit more or something like the Gyokushodo Kaori No Sho range, maybe not any specific incense in that range, but just the overall aloeswood scent originating from a wood oil approach. Sure, Myo-kaku is a bit more deluxe but then so is its price.

The other thing that strikes me about this is while overall Myo-koku is an incense with a powerful aloeswood profile, it seems to lack a bit of subtlety. In an era where certain companies are experimenting with cultivated aloeswood, a worthy project that has yet to truly justify the expenses for wood that still misses a lot of what makes great aloeswood great, one is led to wonder if some of Myo-kaku comes from cultivated wood. It’s like a choice to go for overall power at the expense of subtlety (the only real subtletly it has is some sense of muskiness or dampness in the profile). And in the end if we can learn anything from rarer aloeswoods disappearing is that for the most part this subtlety will also disappear until cultivated aloeswood manages to catch up. For all these reasons, it feels like you’re actually getting a better aloeswood product from a place like Bosen or from Kida Jinseido’s Ikuhokoh or Shunkohdo Ranjatai or even Minorien’s Kyara Fu-in, all of which are much, much more affordable. And not only that but my most recent rolls of Nan-Kun and Ga-Ho both still have the kind of subtlety in the woods that Myo-kaku is missing.

So in the end is Myo-kaku a nice incense? Sure. Is it worth the price? Not even remotely. That actually may even be true now for most of the high end of the premium line, but to my nose even something like Matsu-no-tomo has more to sit with and that’s still extremely affordable. At best I would like to think that most incense companies are probably struggling with issues related to raw materials, in fact the entire history of the late 20th and early 21st centuries is watching many incenses in all ranges hit the walls and it not only affects aloeswood, but I’m sure sandalwood and halmaddi as well. And in that sense they all have my sympathies, but I do think that putting sky high price tags on incenses that are not up to speed yet is likely to backfire. There was a similar issue with Shunkohdo’s Vietnam, Zaarai / Tỉnh Gia Lai Aloeswood and Vietnam, Kanhoa / ỉnh Khánh Hò Aloeswood. Nice incenses, sure, but when you consider they’re only 10 sticks a box (so essentially $5 and $4 a stick), they’re ending up in a price range they don’t belong. Unfortunately this may end up hinting at where the market will end up eventually.

4 Comments

14 One of a Kind Japanese Incenses

February 25, 2021 at 5:28 pm (Japan, Japan Incense, Kunjudo, Kyukyodo, Mike, Minorien, Shoyeido, Tennendo)

This article was an idea to have a Top 10 of what I consider one of a kind Japanese incenses in the sense that the 9 incenses and one line (of 5 incenses) would all be scents I consider unique. I thought of this burning selection #2 today. This list is in absolutely no hierarchical order, I just went through and thought of incenses that are so singularly their own that there’s really no other incenses like them, no match in their own line or in other company’s lines. So it features both affordable and highly priced wonders. I didn’t really have time to go through and link to previous reviews to them at least yet (and not all of these have reviews, so there is a first time showing or two), but you can use the search engine to the left to find my years-old impressions of them and in certain cases I give my thoughts here of what I think of them now. Do you know any one of a kind Japanese incenses that aren’t on the list? Please feel free to share them in the comments and discuss!

  1. Kyukyodo/Sho-Ran-Koh (Laughing Orchid) While I largely wanted to avoid a great deal of aloeswood incenses, where either in line or out of line you can usually find something similar in style, I find Sho-Ran-Koh utterly unique in its mix between oils and woods. Like most Japanese incenses I think it has probably taken a minor hit from what it smelled like ten years ago, it’s either my nose or the blend isn’t quite as complicated anymore. But I do think it still really fits the Laughing Orchid name in that the scent has an incredible amount of movement in it and almost playful and joyful quality to it. There’s aloeswood certainly, but the creators of this incense have a completely unique mix of other ingredients on top that made this a one of a kind, there is no incense in its line or any other that quite capture what it does. Even the more premium Kyukyodos I believe are not quite as excellent as this one. It is truly one of the treasures of traditional incense, a prime expression of Japanese art.
    https://www.japanincense.com/ky-0005.html
  2. Kunjudo/Hogetsu What used to be Incense du Monde and then became Florisens I believe still markets this incense as Guiding Light, but the mark up as it sails around the world is quite substantial. I was pleased when Japan Incense began to import this on its own and for a $20 spot which makes it an excellent deal. This is described as a mix of woods and while there’s probably a bit of aloeswood in it, there’s really not enough to make this an aloeswood incense per se, but the blend of woods and oils here gives off an utterly unique, salty and tangy incense that has been a favorite of mine since I first tried it. The fact that it’s not really an aloeswood or a sandalwood incense and yet still remains high quality is very rare in Japanese incense and there’s absolutely nothing else that smells like this that I know of. And I nearly ran out of my Guiding Light box as I discovered it was imported so I can now happily stock this one deep.
    https://www.japanincense.com/kj-0032.html
  3. Tennendo/Propolis – This is a very special incense. It is a modern short-stick sort of deal and you have to spend into the mid 20s but you get a large amount of sticks with a scent that is unlike anything else in incense (I certainly can’t think of any other propolis stick incenses). It’s essentially the resin that bees bring back to build their hives and as such the properties of the wood resins change into a remarkable and rich scent that actually kind of hints at other wood resins while not being close enough to be duplicative. So it’s modern, deep and intense all at once and the aroma is powerful and fills the room really quickly.
    https://www.japanincense.com/tn-0035.html
  4. Shoyeido/Horin (the original line). While I’m technically cheating here given that the newest incense in this line, Shira-kawa, is essentially a variant of Hori-kawa, the five incenses, both stick and coil, in Shoyeido’s original Horin line are remarkable in that they start with vanilla and spice/amber blends but notably tackle a few rare modern aloeswoods of which there are really no other analogs in the field of incense. When I first started restocking, most of these were actually at the top of the list for me. You will find that through Amazon marketplace a lot of these are actually priced cheaper than the Shoyeido going price as well. I’m not sure what my favorite of the five are but I often feel it’s either Hori-kawa because I love the cinnamon in the mix or Muro-machi because it as a very nice caramel-aloeswood blend I’m not sure you can find anywhere else.
    https://www.shoyeido.com/category/horin-incense-coils
  5. Minorien/Kyara Ryugen – Unless you’re looking at one of the really high end purer kyara woods like Baieido Kyara Kokoh, for me Ryugen is the singular and most impressive kyara blend ever made and one of my all time favorite incenses. I don’t think I can match my original review of it, so I’ll point you there. Most kyaras are amazing enough to have very complex personalities but often that complexity actually creates similarities, where in this case there’s an oil mix with the woods that just gives off this unique mystical nightshade sort of ambiance that has as much vibe as good taste.
    https://www.japanincense.com/mn-0020.html
  6. Shoyeido/Premium/Nan-Kun I was glad this incense survived the recent cuts as it’s the one incense where spikenard is a really powerful presence, something you don’t see as much anywhere else. It’s also, of course, a pretty expensive and premium aloeswood incense at the same time, but rather than going for the hoary antique side of things the woodiness presents a balancing act with sweetness in an analogous way to the great Kunmeido Asuka stick while ending up in a completely different area. I actually like this one in tandem with Ga-Ho, as for years I’ve always rotated them in sequence due to how different there are, but it also ends up reminding me that this is really the rarer of the two sticks.
    https://www.shoyeido.com/category/southern-wind
  7. Shoyeido/Xiang-Di/Forest Popular incense companies Shoyeido and Nippon Kodo churn out modern sticks almost as fast as you can keep up with them and many of them are so geared to specific scents that they can often just be aromatically monochromatic and at worse bitter or synthetic smelling. This little gem has always been a favorite to me as its crystal freshness doesn’t have any off notes and captures the fresh feel of a walk through an evergreen forest with a candy touch. It’s no secret I love green incenses whether it’s the Kunmeido’s or Mermade Magical Arts but this presents the scent in a completely different venue and actually succeeds for its build.
    https://www.shoyeido.com/product/xiang-do-forest/xiang-do-incense
  8. Minorien/Kagiku (Chrysanthemum)  I’m not a huge floral fan so my eyes tend to zoom by them in catalogs and it probably zoomed right by this one at some point without noticing that it’s also an aloeswood incense. Also something of a modern scent due to the short, thicker stick, the combination of floral and wood here is something I’ve seen before (probably, I can’t think of any off hand) but certainly not as a Chrysanthemun scent. A sample of this one won me over almost instantly.
    https://www.japanincense.com/mn-0060.html
  9. Kyukyodo/Azusa  Another Kyukyodo gem and perhaps the world’s greatest floral or at least jasmine. Powdery, sweet, not bitter in the slightest with a distinctly pretty scent, I have kept this in stock since I first purchased it. However, I do miss the slim long stick boxes.
    https://www.japanincense.com/ky-0053.html
  10. Japan Incense/Theology/Eucalyptus You can tell by the box and the little inserts inside that this is a Minorien incense marketed for the USA’s finest source of Japanese incense, Japan Incense. Many incenses like this are likely targeted for people who visit off the streets and gravitate to more familiar scents and as everyone in California knows eucalyptus trees are ubiquitous in a way that incenses of that scent really aren’t. I was surprised by this one in a way I wasn’t quite by the Myrrh and Sage in the same line, but still I’m always impressed by Minorien and how brilliant they are, I think maybe four of my favorite incenses are made by this company. This has a nicely polished Eucalptus sense with a bit of richness to it that I was surprised to find and now that it’s in rotation, it’s actually easy to see how different it is from anything else I own.
    https://www.japanincense.com/ji-0002.html

22 Comments

Shoyeido – Nijo, Shirakawa, Genroku, Muromachi, Tenpyo

June 23, 2014 at 1:38 pm (Incense, Japan, John, Shoyeido)
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Nijo on first impressions is a heavily perfumed sandalwood stick, on first light I get a strong floral top note of jasmine and wisteria, with a mid note of fruit (maybe apricot or green grapes?) and a slight hint of vanilla amber and talcum.

Shirakawa is a stick with a rich, full bodied scent of vanilla and amber, with a hint of floral and dry sandalwood in the background. There is also a tiny base note of talc hiding out in the burn.

Genroku is quite diffrent from the first two, in that it has no overt perfumes or oils that I can tell, and insteads seems to be composed of a blend of aloeswood, with a top note of cambodian or vietnamese aloeswood and a base note of sweet agarwood.

Muromachi seemed to have a sweet spiced scent to it, with a blend of agar and dry sandal at the base.

Tenpyo is straight vietnamese agarwood, with the rich resiny aroma associated with such.

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Nine Japanese Incenses I Burn PLUS a Wonderful Cheat

August 30, 2012 at 7:25 pm (Baieido, Gyokushodo, Japan, Kyukyodo, Marian, Ross, Seijudo, Seikado, Shoyeido)
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Seijudo Lotus Flower Kyara (Kyara Horen) – Light and sweet (quiet vanilla) and somewhat lacking in depth, but elegant and almost floral in its delicate fineness. It has a gentle and gauzy feeling that make me think of tender moments.

Seijudo Yeonsu Kyara (Kyara Enju) – Stronger, deeper and fuller than Lotus Flower, containing sweet notes of kyara and powdery, cushion-y musk.  It is heartier than Lotus Flower though they both feature Kyara from Vietnam.

Shoyeido Beckoning Spring (Shun-yo)- a very feminine, floral stick in that makes me think more of perfume than of incense. The name of the incense is very apt- it resembles a flower garden waking in the morning dew.  The scent is quite strong, without being suffocating, and feels very joyous and generous in spirit. I don’t think it will appeal to lovers of wood-scented incense, but it is one of few floral incenses I like despite its linearity and one dimensionality. It supposedly contains agarwood,, cloves, camphor and patchouli but I can’t smell the cloves and I would guess it contains other synthetics and/or perfume oils in addition to white musk. This incense really makes me sing 🙂

Shoyeido Hoetsu Rapture- a chip mixture with very strong notes of camphor, star anise and sandalwood (also aloeswood , cloves and probably other stuff, too). The sandalwood overshadows the aloeswood, but the blend is a pleasant combination of woody and floral notes. I enjoy burning it on Shoyeido’s portable burner. The gossamer floral notes that I think are a combination of camphor and clove make their appearance early in the burn; the woods predominate after a few minutes have elapsed.  I’ve tried a couple of Yamada Matsu chip mixes with similar ingredients that I prefer. I can’t figure out why the YM mixes seem more potent and more interesting since the ingredients, as listed,  are pretty much the same.

Kyukyudo Murasakino- I wish I knew how to upload a photo. The packaging is stunning-bluish/purplish and gold brocade, a wide, eggplant-colored cord and gold-flecked parchment label with black characters – the epitome of opulent presentation.  The sticks themselves are a bright yellow-green in color- a marriage of emerald and chartreuse. The incense is a less sweet than the above sticks. Although I can smell agarwood, borneol and herbs the individual ingredients don’t stand out as distinct entities but fuse together to form a complex amalgam with its own particular character. The scent is dynamic and energizing, and seems less “processed” and more natural than the others sticks I’ve mentioned so far. The stick is a little edgy without being harsh. It makes me think of a brisk woodland stroll through in autumn where campfires were recently burning and furry animals glide through the night. (There is a hint of musk but it is somewhat subdued).  Despite the fact that the separate notes blend together so effortlessly, the scent of the stick varies throughout its length. I like that- it keeps me guessing 🙂

Seikado Kyara- I think this one is worth mentioning because it showcases the bitter side of Kyara.  I like the dryness of the stick, though sometimes it smells a little earthy and muggy.

Baiedo’s 350th anniversary stick- I only smelled this once but it made a big impression on me because of its successful combination of seemingly contradictory elements. The stick smelled densely sweet with notes of cinnamon, cloves and the sweetness of  creamy woods, yet also crystalline, confident and sinewy. The juxtaposition of dignified strength, pastoral earthiness, suede-like skin scents and floral sweetness was as surprising as it was alluring.

Gyokushodo Nami No Sho-  I was sure this contained ambergris! There’s a mineral fizziness- almost like white pepper- that fooled me 🙂  That’s OK- I like the way it plays the trick 🙂  I’m a huge fan of ambergris because I love the salty marine notes and the many images they conjure up. If anyone knows of sticks that do contain ambergris, I’d be grateful for the information.

Kyukyodo Koroboh kneaded incense- Heavy on the borneol and plenty of plum-y, jam-y fruits.  I really love the way the almost eye-smarting camphoraceous notes collide with the juicy stickiness of dried fruits. The combination of heat and ice makes me absolutely giddy. That such seemingly opposite scents can get along so well gives me hope for mankind 🙂

The downside- not much carrying power

Cheat- Agarwood mix by Olfactory Rescue Service’s Ross Urrere- I’m saying this is cheating because Ross isn’t Japanese but I think it’s OK for me to list his incense here because I think the ingredients are ambergris, agarwood and musk- real musk. One of the major reasons I like this incense is because it starts off with a blast of animalic, brine-y ambergris that is unmistakable. That mineral note is so seductive- perhaps because of the images of harpoons, scrimshaw, bursting waves, one-eyed pirates, etc, that it immediately brings to mind. The agarwood is so sweet it almost smells caramelized, and the musk adds warmth and mellowness. I would call this an animalic/gourmand agarwood mix- perfect for a cozy winter evening 🙂

17 Comments

Shoyeido / Horin Series / Shirakawa

August 26, 2012 at 8:46 pm (Amber, Coconut, Ross, Shoyeido, Vanilla)

Shoyeido’s Horin series has been a long time favorite of many here at ORS and has some real winners in its line up. Recently Shoyeido brought out a new member of the series called Shirakawa, which apparently is named after the White River Valley in Japan.

If you like Hori-kawa’s (River Path) amber scent then this will  be right up your ally as it also has a big amber based scent, along with the addition of a vanilla and slight coconut note across the top. There is a sweet quality to the over all profile and it reminds me a bit of a perfume called “Pink Sugar”.

Like Hori-kawa, it is very strong; even a quarter of a stick will pretty well fill up a 12 X 12 room. This incense relies heavily on oils and perfume influences and while I think there might be some sandalwood in the base it is pretty hard to tell. I did notice that this seemed to be better as a first stick of a burning session, although burning anything after this is going to require a wait. This incense would be great for scenting large areas like gallery’s or showrooms.

1 Comment

February Top 10

February 27, 2012 at 3:22 pm (Dhuni, Incense, India, Japan, Mermade Magickal Arts, Mike, Shoyeido, Shroff Channabasappa, United States)

It has been a long time since I’ve done an incense top 10 here and it has been a while since I visited some of my stock, so I’ve limited the entries to seven as you can more or less count the recent Dhuni group as four slots. This is basically a lot of what I’ve been using of late….

  1. Various Incenses / Mermade Magickal Arts – Let’s just call this first entry a salute to one of the US’s top incense talents Katlyn Breene. Mermade should be well known around these parts, but this is a reminder that there is an almost incredibly high consistency level in the work from this company from the art to the incense to the presentation. It doesn’t matter if it’s evergreen treasures like Earth Church or ancient blends like Kyphi, every item is delievered with skill, integrity and a dose of light. To be honest I’m not sure this site would even be here had I not been blown away by blends like Dream Snake and Dragon Fire over 15 years ago so it’s always a great joy for me to spread the word.
  2. [deleted]
  3. Dhuni / Frangipani, Lakshmi, Sandalwood, Temple – As I’ve said before Dhuni’s biggest weakness is their lack of 100g packages. Because honestly these 12-15 stick packages I can put down in a weekend. Anyway I reviewed these recently so check there for more but this is a terrific group. I might give Frangipani the nudge of the four just because it’s so florally gorgeous.
  4. Ross Urrere / Ocean of Night Sure this is highly biased, to put one of my cohort’s incenses on this list (and I should say it here too, there wouldn’t be an ORS without Ross), but if you go check out the sales page, you’ll see I’m not alone in admiring this incredible mix of high quality woods and herbs.  In 2030 we’ll be looking back at how great Ross’s “early work” was. 🙂
  5. Kyukyodo / Unkin  Of all the Kyukyodo items I put up for sale I think this could be the biggest surprise none of these moved as this is a terrific incense and one unavailable outside the five roll box. I almost think of this as something like the Kai Un Koh of the Kyukyodo line up in that I think for the price it’s a bit better of an aloeswood than you’d normally get. For a while I was lighting up two sticks at once which really increases the woodiness. It’s smooth, undeniably Kyukyodo in that there are some oils at work. And yes I have two rolls left, but not for long!
  6. Shroff Channabasappa / Sugandha Mantri – I’ve had a difficult time thinking or even talking about the batch Sugandha Mantri came with as they’re all very good incenses, yet to some extent most of them seem to be champa based with a mysterious and exotic floral/musk blend on top. This tends to mean it’s a group of incenses you haven’t really tried before and aren’t comparable to much that’s out there in the field. There’s really only a hair of difference between this and the others.
  7. Shoyeido / Premium / Ga-Ho – There’s a pungent green exotic floral note to this that has always made it a favorite in my book, it’s like the beautiful flower you’ve never smelled in person before. Most of the Shoyeido premiums are amazing but I have a soft spot for this one, it perhaps has the type of aloeswood hit I like best.

9 Comments

Shoyeido / Floral World / Gold (Pine, Violet, Jasmine) (Discontinued Line)

October 6, 2011 at 7:48 am (Discontinued, Incense, Japan, Jasmine, Mike, Pine / Pinon, Shoyeido, Violet)

Shoyeido / Floral World / Echo
Shoyeido / Floral World / Royal
Shoyeido / Floral World / Star

It has been a while since we covered a Shoyeido incense and in that time I realized we’d never discussed the most inexpensive assortment of Floral World incenses. In the meantime it seems the company has discontinued either part of the line or the entire line (I couldn’t find a link to this one in the Shoyeido catalog, but Essence of the Ages seems to have stock still). so you’re left with what is a 60 stick box, 20 short sticks per aroma.

It’s probably helpful to look at the whole series in terms of its gradient. At the top end in the Star set you have some of the finest modern florals on the market. The ingredients used are extremely high quality and it gives a definition to the florals that is a really rare thing for any incense. This extreme definition is gone with the Royal set, but generally speaking you’re still getting very high quality florals with slightly more static aromas. With Echo you’re definitely a step down and getting close to more of what you see floral wise on the Japanese market. When you get down to Gold what you’re mostly smelling is the moden process involved in the work and the way that process makes the incenses sweet and friendly, however by the Gold they’re starting to lose a lot of individual personality.

For instance, I’m not sure Pine would even be something I’d get out of the set’s red stick, although this is not a suprise given the previous sets’ sandalwoods tend to the floral and not the traditional. This is sugary, sweet, loud and brash , unsurprisingly not bearing any of the subtlety of the higher ranges, while still being a friendly incense in its own right. At this level, however, I get subscents like berry candles and the side effects of the massive perfume hit these incenses are given. The incense in itself is actually not bad, but I think I get a bit of dissonance when I try to think of it as a pine incense.

The Violet is a little thin in the middle and it’s impossible not to think of how wonderful the higher end violet is in the Floral World series. It seems that some of the incenses in the entire series might use some resins to give it some middle, but whatever it is that causes that effect is missing here. Like the Pine, there isn’t so much a specific violet aroma as there is an approximation of it. Maybe in another company such lack of distinction would lead to a poor incense, but again this is certainly nice and friendly just not very specific.

The Jasmine feels like a fainter, less quality version of the Floral World royal jasmine, again the lack of distinction is what really sets these apart from the other incenses in the series. It’s puffy, sweet, overperfumed yet friendly and like the other incenses in the box, I can’t help but sense similarities to the Nippon Kodo Yume no Yume line in terms of what they’re trying to do.

Obviously this Floral World line is priced so that the more you pay the better the quality of incense and really it’s much easier to recommend the better ones even at those prices. These are nice, but it wouldn’t shock me if this really was deleted.

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August Top Ten 2011

September 5, 2011 at 5:44 pm (Baieido, Baikundo, Kunmeido, Kyukyodo, Mermade Magickal Arts, Nu Essence, Ross, Seijudo, Shoyeido)

Minorien  FU-IN® Kyara Ryugen: This is Minorien’s top of the line(at least here in the US)  Kyara blend. If you are familiar with the companies style then you will see that this is the end result of ever increasing refinement. The balance of all the differing elements and the way they have been mixed is truly remarkable. Not to be missed and you can pick up a small box for around $40.00.

Keigado East Temple (Ansoku): Sandalwood with a spice note that is also somewhat (a little) perfume like. This is a very pleasant and usable “everyday” incense. I find myself giving away a lot of this just to show people that you can get good Japanese incense and not blow away your bank account.

Kyukyodo Akikaze : No one does this style like Kyukyodo. There are notes that are floral married up with perfumes and all this rides across a quality Aloeswood base. One of the masterpieces of the incense maker’s art. It’s available from Kohshi by special order. Not inexpensive, but worth it.

Kunmeido Shoryu Koh (Rising Dragon): A great Aloeswood mixed with a wonderful “green” note, which seems (to me at least) to be this companies signature style. This one is much more forward in all these elements but also smoother than their Reiryo koh blend and costs much less than their upper tier blends. A nice balance point.

Seijudo Shiragiku – White Chrysanthemum: One of the great deals in incense, with a distinctive “high end” style that mimics the much more expensive real Kyara sticks that this company also produces. It’s rich, powerful and you would swear, loaded with Kyara and musk. This is not the case but it is a great introduction to that world. This is a great treat for one’s self.

Shoyeido Muromachi: This has seemingly gone though some changes over the years but is still great incense and also a pretty unique scent. Nice, almost caramel note which is mixed into the woods. I use the coils, which seem to me to have a slightly woodsier note going for them then the sticks.

Nu Essence ABRA MELIN: These are small tins packed with a lot of scent. This blend has a strong rose note along with frankincense and other resins. There is a wonderful interplay between all the different ingredients and the scent can change depending on the length of time on the heater. Very nice to scent a room and a little goes a long way. I have encluded the makers link as it’s a very informative site.

Mermade Arts Pan’s Earth: Deep resin scent mixed in with the woods and the addition of Patchouli and Vetivert, which adds a lot more depth to the mix. There is also a slight edge to this incense, which reflects the idea of Pan to me. Pan’s Earth is always a winner but I think this batch is one of the best.

Deep Earth Premium-2011: These incense balls or nuggets have been aged for quite awhile which adds complexity and depth to the scent. They are very resinous with wood notes as well as a subtle blending of spices. There is a slightly sweet side to the whole thing and it is best used in an electric heater at a low setting.  This is a good choice for reflection and meditation.

Baieido Kokonoe Koh: I find this to be a really good and classic Baieido style stick. It has a great combination of Aloesood, Sandalwood and spices and is also very reasonably priced. This would make a nice gift for someone who is not into the sweet or floral scented incense’s. This is one of my “go to” or must have sticks.

Awaji-Baikundo Jihi – Amacha kou: One of the best amber scents around and it also has some serious Boral camphor along for the ride. It’s quite distinctive and very good. I use it a lot late at night. The scent lasts a long time and also works well for scenting clothing.

– Ross

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October Top 10

October 27, 2010 at 10:16 am (Agarwood / Aloeswood / Eaglewood, Amber, Ambergris, Baieido, Champa / Durbar, Fred Soll, Halmaddi / Mattipal, Incense Top 10 Lists, India, Japan, Kyara, Kyukyodo, Mike, Mother's India Fragrances, Musk, Nippon Kodo, Pine / Pinon, Sandalwood, Shoyeido, Shroff Channabasappa, Spice (Cinnamon Clove Nutmeg etc.), Spikenard / Jatamansi, Tennendo, United States, Vanilla, Yamadamatsu)

  1. Mother’s India Fragrances – Om Nag Champa  I don’t mean to take much attention away from all of the other excellent incenses in the Mother’s series, but there’s something about this one that’s hit a bullseye with me, to the point where I ran out my first 20 stick package of this about a month or so after I received it. However in stocking it deeper in the smaller packages, I noticed the batches were a little different and it’s something I’ve been wondering about in terms of aromatic differences as the Om I started with really is something of a triangular balancing act and the small package scent falls perhaps a little short. But generally speaking this works for me because I love an incense with a perfect cinnamon/cassia note and this one, at least in the big package has that to an almost addictive state.
  2. Shoyeido / Premium / Myo-Ho  I find this to be one of the greatest incenses period, definitely my favorite of the top 3 premiums and I love the effect it has on company when they first get the aroma. The liquerish sweetness and dark kyara and aloeswood notes mesh just about perfectly in this one.
  3. Baieido / Ogurayama Aloeswood  I still find this a natural miracle, it just never ceases to astound me that you can get this much aroma from a small piece of this wood. I mean you can literally get 3-4 hours of it when you get the right temperature and I spend most of it double taking, going yeah it really is that little chip doing that. I might actually slightly prefer the Hakusui in terms of its spiciness but I think the resin might actually be a bit more intense in the Ogurayama. Anyway this is about as close to incense nirvana as it gets for me.
  4. Fred Soll / Red Sandalwood  Like many Solls this does have the penchant to not stay lit, but that’s really its only weakness. Like Shroff’s Red Sandal, this is a spicier take on a sandalwood incense, showing a totally different facet of the wood due to the cinnamon-ish notes. With Soll’s version you get that combination mixed in with that southwestern woodsy/resiny vibe to great effect. It’s also one of the mellower Solls and seems to have less powerful oils than they usually do.
  5. Tennendo / Enkuu  This is always a perennial favorite in my book, in fact long time readers might know that this is one of the most common incenses in the top ten lists here. I think that’s largely because so many of the top end incenses have kyara and are thus very sweet, Enkuu is more at the apex of the drier spicy end, for its kind there are really few better incenses. And even after a year or two since I first tried it, I still find it strikingly original and only find it mildly comparative to other high end aloeswood/spikenard mixes.
  6. Fred Soll / Nag Champa with Amber and Vanilla  I don’t bring out the Soll champas very often as for a couple of years now they’ve shown nothing but delays in terms of restocking these scents, no doubt due to the usual shortages. But when I do I’m always completely bowled over by how great these are, particularly in the realms of the sugary sweet. This one’s about as rich and amazing as you can imagine, perhaps even too much so for a small room, but perfect for these late warm California summers outside where it can penetrate with even a small wind.
  7. Yamadamatsu / Kumoi Koh  Another absolute classic in my book, an oil and woods mix that is rich, spicy and animalistic, so strong that you can get an idea of its scent just from the fresh stick. It’s similar to one or two of the coils that haven’t been imported here yet that clearly use some ingredients you don’t usually find in incenses at this level of strength. Very exotic and heady.
  8. Kyukyodo / (several)  Clearly the top catalog whose entry to US shores seems to be problematic at the very least. Sure you can find Sho-Ran-Koh and Azusa these days, but there are just a good dozen incenses or so that just badly need to be imported that haven’t ever been over here, such as the incredible aloeswood Akikaze or even the stunning and much lower end Benizakura or one of the really great high quality sandalwood based incenses Gyokurankoh. Oh and RIP Shiun and Yumemachi, what a pair to be deleted!
  9. Nippon Kodo / Tokusen Kyara Taikan  Readers may not fully be aware that if you don’t count the regular Kyara Taikan or Kongo, which I don’t, this is actually the lowest incense on a scale that goes up to what seems like the world’s most expensive stick incense, the $2500 Gokujyo Kyara Fugaku. I think you’d only have to pay $120 something for the Tokusen Kyara Taikan, which is actually an excellent stick in that it drops some of the more perfumy sweet aspects of the straight Kyara Taikan for a more elegant result. It’s a shame these are so breakable and thin, but they do pack quite a wallop.
  10. Shroff / Akash Ganga  I’ve always found this an odd scent because it’s one if not the only incenses in the Dry Masala range that shares the yellow boxes with the Semi-Drys, and I can see why as it seems to fall somewhere in the middle. I find this a very unusual variant on the “desert flower” sort of scents in that it doesn’t have the heavy camphorous notes they usually have or the sort of sickly sweet perfumes. And as a result it strikes me as a very mysterious scent with a depth that continues to make me go through my supplies very fast.

As always feel free to share with us what amazed you this month!

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