Kousaido / Sanshi-Suimei / Gion Koh; Waboku Set (3 scents); Koto koh, Take koh, Sumi-koh, and Ume koh

September 2, 2021 at 6:21 am (Amber, Ambergris, Bergamot, Camphor, Borneol, Cyclamen, Cypress, Incense, Ink, Japan, Kousaido, Lilac, Lily, Mike, Oakmoss (Lichen), Plum, Sandalwood, Spice (Cinnamon Clove Nutmeg etc.), Ylang Ylang, Zelkova)

Kousaido is a Japanese company of a very modern bent, carrying many of the same sorts of lines you see with Nippon Kodo. So I’ll be straight up when I say that these styles aren’t usually to my taste and this review is of a few places I cast my net looking for some things I thought I might go for or to at least get some general overview of the company. Like in Nippon Kodo and even some of Shoyeido’s lines, some of these incenses are the sort of short 2 1/2 to 3/4 inch, slightly thicker sticks that tend to be machine produced and laden with perfumed aromas. They are perhaps not targeted at traditional incense fans, although one of the boxes here perhaps presents a slightly closer pitch to wood-based scents.

You usually don’t see moderns in pawlonia boxes, but Gion Koh is part of a series of five moderns in small little ones called Sanshi Suimei. Japan Incense sells a nice little sampler of 3 sticks each which you can find here. I received these close to the beginning of reopening ORS, so not only did I really not think to make notes of the other four, but none of them were really to my tastes. That’s not to say I disliked them all, but it was only Gion Koh that really stood out in a way that made me order a separate box. As I’ve probably gone on record elsewhere, I do tend to like amber themed incenses and a mix of that with sandalwood and ylang ylang ended up being quite a pleasant affair. Don’t mistake what this is, a perfumed modern, but it reminds me of the better aspects of some of the deluxe and discontinued Shoyeido Floral World sticks. The sandalwood is still pretty strong in the midst and while this doesn’t really smell much like the ylang ylang I remember from essential oils, as that’s a fairly gentle scent compared to the somewhat hair product level strength of this, the note doesn’t really overwhelm the wood or the base amber scent. And for me it’s that last piece that makes this something of a pleasant diversion for me. Other scents in the series just hit different areas within the same format, so if you think you might like the style I’d probably recommend the sampler first to see what you gravitate towards.

These next two boxes are actually made up of multiple scents and are sampler boxes whose contents don’t appear to be imported separately. So before we go back to the short stick format, we’re going to discuss the Kousaido Waboku set, which includes Kusunoki (Camphor), Hinoki (Japanese Cypress) and Keiyaki (Zelkova) at 25 sticks each. This set seems far and away the most traditionally minded series Kousaido exports to the US through Japan Incense. I was curious, not at all for the Cypress which tends not to deviate from either Baieido or Nippon Kodo versions, but for the other two incenses which actually seem to be fairly rare aromas on their own. And I do love me some camphor. First of all, I should say that the inserts each of the three series of incenses come in are less boxes than cardboard wrap arounds. As such it felt like a bit too much trouble to unwind and take separate pictures of the incenses as it feels like these wraparounds are likely to degrade with too much use. Besides the incenses themselves look almost exactly what you might expect from something in an inexpensive Nippon Kodo line.

And unfortunately the Kusnoki seems strangely contrived. It’s not difficult to tell what Kousaido was going for, just that it’s somewhat puzzling it doesn’t really hit the camphor sweet spot when expenses shouldn’t need to get in the way. It’s as if they dialed it back a bit on purpose which really kind of sets it a bit too close to what is a fairly, obviously, inexpensive wood base. Even that’s fairly mellow but matching this kind of light base with a dull note really doesn’t work all that well. But it’s a modern right? When you pitch woods as moderns this is often the sort of effect you get. The Hinoki is really little different, although inexpensive Japanese hinoki incenses tend to work out OK, even the smokeless Hinoki in the NK line isn’t a bad incense. But when I think of something like the Bosen Pythoncidere and that super green cypress scent in comparison, this just feels a bit lukewarm. It’s closer to the NK but even closer to the Camphor in that it’s got that thin wooden base with just a bit of the main scent sort of submerged in the middle. As such I think most will probably find this a bit more pleasant than the Camphor, but I’d still advise sticking to the Hinokis you already have as this one doesn’t have much to offer. And strangely the Zelkova tree, based on rummaging the internet a bit, seems like a shade tree and not something usually considered an aromatic source. But Keiyaki might be the most fascinating blend of the three here in that this incense has an aroma that’s fairly unique. And it’s not only that, but where the previous two incenses felt like mild aromas in lighter wood, this seems a bit stronger and more in your face, which might imply a greater level of perfume here. So even though I’ve never smelled a zelkova, nor could make any fair comparisons, it’s still the incense of the three I enjoy the most. Make no mistake, this one is still obviously perfumed, but at least its distinct.

The next Kousaido grouping falls under the name “Set of 4 Scents.” This artistically designed box set, where the four different boxes provide a nice little mosaic of tree branches, hides four different modern aromas with 2 and 3/4 inch sticks (I would guess this is a typo at the Japan Incense site as nearly all modern mini sticks are in this range). Koto Koh is described as including sandalwood, amber, ambergris, and oak moss and could almost be a cousin of Gion Koh because of the red-colored base and the amber. The oak moss element is surprisingly noticeable in the mix, although it blends into what is perhaps too much of a generic perfume. On the outside of the individual box, Sumi Koh also says “(Ink).” Along with borneol you essentially get a decent description of the purple stick’s bouquet. The borneol gives the aroma its piquant top end while the ink scent makes up the rest of it. I find ink scented incenses to perhaps not be the kind of aromas I’d burn all the time, but I do appreciate their originality and difference. And at least here the muskiness of it outweighs any sort of heavy floral note. I’m pretty sure Nippon Kodo has one or more bamboo themed incenses but from those or the Kousaido Take Koh, it’s difficult to tell what this is going for as the lily of the valley, cyclamen and bergamot notes sort of mix aqua like and citrus qualities up into one very muddy green floral. It’s honestly a bit of a mess and not a bad example of a modern that really doesn’t work. Finally there’s Ume Koh which intends to be a baika or plum blossom incense, but is so full of off and synthetic lilac notes that any hope of the plum and clove saving it is completely lost. It’s virtually impossible to find a sunny side up on this one as it has more in common with insect sprays than anything pleasant.

Overall, Kousaido moderns may not really be at all to the taste of most of the ORS readership. They are perhaps more tailor made for the causal browser who might stumble across the Koh Shi brick and mortar on a visit to the bay area and want something more in line with the types of modern air fresheners, perfumes and candles that tend to proliferate in modern stores.

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Gyokushodo / Nerikoh (Kneaded) / Kusa No To, Hanafuna, Shiun

October 24, 2016 at 11:51 am (Agarwood / Aloeswood / Eaglewood, By Company, Camphor, Borneol, Gyokushodo, Incense, John, Kneaded Incense (Nerikoh), Plum, Spice (Cinnamon Clove Nutmeg etc.), Woods)
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Its been a while since I wrote a review! I have been trying to reign in my budget a bit by going through my existing stockpiles before purchasing anything new, but I had the opportunity to try Gyokushodo’s new line up of nerikoh offerings earlier today thanks to Kotaro-san from Japan Incense.

On first analysis all three blends contain the typical Ume-gaka style ingredients, including camphor, clove, cassia and agar wood. They each start off with a blast of camphor and clove, and then settle down into a sour plum fragrance, and eventually wrapping up with a nice woody agarwood aroma. The difference in the three though is the concentration of ingredients. Whereas Kusa no To is the lowest price point of the three, it is obvious it has less of the key ingredients than the next two up the line, and does not project as much. Hanafuna ups the game a bit, and Shiun does that but also seems to have extra agar wood added to it.

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Gyokushodo Saimei koh & Umeshoin

January 18, 2010 at 6:48 pm (Agarwood / Aloeswood / Eaglewood, Camphor, Borneol, Conch / Marine Snail / Operculum, Gyokushodo, Incense, Japan, Musk, Plum, Ross, Sandalwood)

Japan Incense/Kohshi recently brought in two more additions to the Gyokushodo line. Gyokushodo is very well thought of in Japan and is only recently getting the recognition it deserves here. You can refer to the other write ups we have done on the company here, here, and here.

Saimei koh comes in a thin square cut stick with a orangeish brown color that reminds me of Turmeric. Unlit the scents of  Borneo Camphor and a large helping of herbs, spices and a back round note of oils are evident. When lighted the Borneo Camphor is not noticed but the quality of the woods present becomes the dominate back round note (aloeswood andsSandalwood) with, in typical  Gyokushodo style, the spices and oils intermixed. There is a definite spicy punch here, the Turmeric mentioned above comes to mind, with the oil note sort of rounding out and smoothing things together. This sort of reminds me of Tennendo’s Karafune sticks, the Silver or Gold. [NOTE: Link changed to point to new packaging, incense may be different from review. – Mike]

This does not seem like the other offerings that Gyokushodo has had here before. This one is much more about the spice/herb notes mixed in with excellent woods rather then the oils that have predominated before. Nice contemplative scent and also works well as something to use before a dinner or gathering. I think this would be a great addition to ones collection at a good price for what you are getting.

Umeshoin also comes in the thin, square cut stick, this time with a medium green color and also with the Borneo Camphor scent as well as an assortment of spice notes. When lighted the Borneo Camphor once again sinks below what my nose can sense (your results may very  ). The overall impression here is that the wood notes are being showcased more then the spice or oil notes. There seems to be a great helping of the woods in the mix and the other scents are there to sort of shape the scent rather then play a major part. This one reminds me of a really good, expensive and elegant men’s cologne(somewhat spicy citrus or Chypre) from long ago. It’s like it was applied some time ago and just the barest hint is still there. I find this one needs to be studied and tuned into, some time taken with it.  Good for meditation or reflection, probably not something you would use to scent a room. Many of the higher end Japanese sticks have this quality, they use great woods and a minimal amount of “colorant”  so that they become much more of a personal moment rather then a crowd pleaser. Then again many go the other route, so much for trying to put incenses into neat little niches! [NOTE: Link changed to point to new packaging, incense may be different from review. – Mike]

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Boudha / Riwo Sang Chhoe, Tara, Tara Naga Lokeshor (Discontinued Line)

July 14, 2009 at 2:08 pm (Agarwood / Aloeswood / Eaglewood, Bamboo, Boudha Tibetan Incense, Crocus, Discontinued, Incense, Nepal, Oakmoss (Lichen), Pangolin Scales / Nagi, Plum, Sandalwood, Spice (Cinnamon Clove Nutmeg etc.), Valerian / Sugandhabal)

Boudha Tibetan Incense neatly crosses the divide between Nepalese and Bhutanese incense. With only three different incenses being sold, the statement that the incense is made by a small family in Nepal seems to only apply to the third of these incenses while the other two also seem to be made in Bhutan and given the style and consistency of these two, I’d say they’re rather definitively Bhutanese in that so many Tibetan style incenses from this country have an almost plastic like consistency and strength.

Boudha Tibetan Incense also uses the same type of packaging, artwork and in some cases even some language akin to the original Red Crystal incense. Although they’re apparently different companies altogether, it’s difficult not to make a connection between the two in not only the packaging materials but in the scent of the incenses. Perhaps the middle incense is the closest in style, but again the big difference between the two is Red Crystal is a very traditional Nepalese incense and Tara incense is certain Bhutanese. So it all gets a bit confusing to say the least. Overall, however, you’re not likely to find superlative quality work here, in both price and scent these incenses are ultimately mediocre.

Riwo Sang Chhoe Incense is created from so many different substances, including microsubstances from gold to coral to cat’s eye (let’s assume we’re talking about a stone here), that any meaningful notes are more or less submerged in one very Bhutanese blend. Unlike a number of Bhutanese incenses with this sort of tough consistency, Riwo Sang Chhoe is the typical tan color rather than pink or red, however, it’s still fairly close in style to the midrange of Nado Poizokhang’s graded incenses. While the production and artwork is reminiscent of Red Crystal, the incense itself lacks that scent’s more sagey and tobacco like herbal notes leaving it mostly in the inexpensive sandalwood range. It’s rather tough to quantify, there’s a bit of spice at work and a bit of juniper berry in there somewhere, but overall it lacks its own personality.

Tara Incense is a bit closer to Red Crystal, although the consistency remains Bhutanese and the stick not so thick. Unlike RSC, this does have some wilder herbal notes in the mix and the more overt sandalwood feel is submerged into something less expensive with that slightly alkaline tang common to low end Tibetans. Overall it’s fairly dry and also not unlike Nado Poizokhang except for the tan color, but it also doesn’t have quite the same character. In a blind scent test it would take a fairly careful nose to tell this one apart from the RSC.

Tara Naga Lokeshor is much shorter and less expensive and moves solidly over into Nepali fare with a more brittle consistency and a darker brown color. Made with 108 different ingredients one will wonder why the necessity of such an endeavor when the end result is largely woody and inexpensive smelling. For the most part I get binder, cheap sandalwood, juniper and cedar in there and only a faint hint of anything else. It’s actually quite harsh overall which is typical for the very low price range.

Unfortunately it’s difficult to recommend any of these incenses in that it’s fairly easy to pick out others close in style that have more personality. Although Nado Poizokhang is quite a bit more expensive, it’s also a lot more savory then the two Bhutanese sticks here and Tara Naga Lokeshor may indeed comform to some ancient recipe, but it’s likely to have little positive impact on most Western noses. If you like the Tibetan artwork on the boxes, it’s far easier to recommend Red Crystal which has a much greater personality and a strong sandalwood middle none of these quite have.

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SAMPLER NOTES: Kunjudo / Japanese Gardens (Tea Garden, Fruits Garden, Bonsai Garden, Moss Garden, Stone Garden) (Discontinued Line); Less Smoke (Plum, Cherry Blossom, Lavender, Rose, Lily of the Valley)

June 6, 2008 at 1:28 am (Cherry Blossom / Sakura, Discontinued, Floral, Fruit, Green Tea, Incense, Incense Notes/Samplers, Japan, Kunjudo, Lavender, Lily, Mike, Plum, Rose, Woods)

These two Kunjudo ranges, all of which are exported directly to the US rather than via Encens du Monde, feature some of the company’s lowest end incenses and as such could be comparable to similar Shoyeido or Nippon Kodo lines. In fact the Japanese Gardens line does have some similarities to Shoyeido’s Daily series, while the Less Smoke incenses remind me quite a bit of Nippon Kodo’s Morning Star line. The former, in general, strike me as traditional or natural scents, while the others definitely have synthetic qualities that often seem to come into less smoke incenses. And it should be said that while these do have less smoke, they are not smokeless.

Tea Garden is the line’s green tea incense. I thought this one smelled almost identical to the Green Tea incense in Kunjudo’s Three Scents packaging, enough where I did a side by side. I don’t think they’re identical, with Tea Garden’s green tea oil not quite so intense, but they’re definitely close enough where you’d need one or the other. Having tested out a few Green Tea incenses recently, this one might be the one I liked the most in that it does have a noticeable element of leaf or oil in it.

It’s going to be up to the user whether or not Fruits Garden is to their tastes, as I can’t think of too many fruity incenses that would appeal to me. This bouquet is kind of like a mix of apple, pear and cherry and as such has a fruit bowl smell, which tends to be less distinctive than if they went for one particular scent. While it does have some synthetic notes to it, the sandalwood base (and this is true for all this line) carries it past those notes for the most part. I can imagine this could be considered quite nice for those going for this sort of scent.

Bonsai Garden is well named, a spicy evergreen scent with hints of cypress and conifers. It’s not really a pure pine or evergreen incense because of the spice and it finishes with a bit of sweet perfume. Overall this is why I’ve written this as sampler notes, as I wasn’t anywhere close to getting a bead on the overall scent and thought this could be quite nice.

Moss Garden‘s a bit indistinct and it’s certainly nothing like the Shoyeido incense of the same name. I remember the aroma here being kind of muted and soft with hints of wet moss and a slight, lifting oil in the back. There’s a bit of fruit or lavender in there somewhere as well.

Stone Garden goes for a really spicy scent, with a strong cinnamon and floral content. I didn’t have enough of a sample to decide on whether it was distinct enough from other similar blends, but this kind of thing is generally to my liking.

Overall I thought the Garden series was rather nice for daily incenses and if I hadn’t already bought the Three Scents package, I’d probably want at least Tea Garden, even if it’s possible I wouldn’t use it much. On the other hand, the Less Smoke blends aren’t really quite to my tastes (it should be taken as a given that smokeless incenses aren’t generally my bag), the leftover whiter ash implies a certain method of creation that’s more synthetic than natural and in these cases it becomes fairly obvious. Recently I went through a Daihatsu line with very similar scents, except in those cases there was perfumery art to them that really lifted the scents (and, of course, they weren’t less smoke/smokeless.)

The obvious comparison from the music world would be the difference between 70s analog and 80s digital technology. The former’s generally fuller and more natural sounding, where the latter, before technology caught up, provided thin and inaccurate samples that were photographs to the analog’s reality. This incense range is similar. The Plum struck me as being thin, almost like an approximation of other plum blossom incenses, and I suppose it suffers from me being on a Kobunboku trip recently. The Cherry Blossom is similar, but doesn’t have the Plum’s slight bitter notes making it a little friendlier. But like most of the line this is more in the vein of sprays and home deoderizers than traditional incense, and thus less to my liking than something like Shoyeido’s Daily version. The Lavender, in particular, reminded me of a Nippon Kodo Morning Star blend, with an aroma that’s obviously synthetic and only remotely like its original oil or herb, but I did like this one more than the prior two, maybe even BECAUSE it’s not like lavender oil, something that doesn’t vary all that much when its pure. Both the Rose and the Lily of the Valley are scents I generally have a bit of trouble with in the first place, so I think my opinion can be extrapolated from the rest of the line without needing to keep firing away.

As I mentioned earlier it’s important to compare your own aesthetics to my own in these cases as I tend to prefer traditional scents and many of these are quite floral. That is while I felt fairly comfortable talking about the Gardens line, the Less Smoke line isn’t something I’d necessarily seek out on their own and was mostly curious about how good they’d be considering so many of the high line Kunjudos are so good.

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Sampler Notes: Daihatsu Tanka Range

May 29, 2008 at 10:47 am (Daihatsu, Evergreen, Floral, Fruit, Incense, Japan, Lilac, Mike, Mint, Plum, Sandalwood, Violet, Woods)

Daihatsu are a Japanese company marrying the art of incense with French perfumery. Very few of their incenses currently imported into the US could be considered traditional. The incenses in question here, more so than the line represented by the black boxes, represent a modern vision that while working with some common ingredients, end up creating entirely new bouquets. These are rather unlikely to appeal to traditionalists or ingredient purists, but in most cases Daihatsu manage to create partially synthetic incenses that don’t usually have harsh or offputting notes and could be considered superior to lower quality incenses that do the same thing. The following are notes on this range based on partial sticks.

Young Leaves is an incense with a sweet, autumnal aroma. It has hints of musk, new carpet and mint and is overall a bit on the sharp side. Like most of these aromas the scent is pretty powerful and perfumed. At times it reminded me of the mintier Shoyeido 12 months incenses, except not quite as refined. Overall, quite nice.

Plum Tanka isn’t all that similar to your traditional plum blossom incense, it’s more of a floral bouquet. Due to the perfume the scent is much more up front and distinct, but you actually get more fruit than blossom, with what reminds me of rose on top. I liked the fact the overall scent tended to the dry side rather than sweet.

Violet Tanka is a rather picture perfect inexpensive violet perfume, well rounded, but a bit on the soapy side at times, which I think is more of an indicator of my relationship to floral incenses than anything else. Like the whole range it has an unsual aromatic strength and in many ways it feels like an alternate version of the Plum Tanka.

Daihatsu’s Sandalwood is so close to a traditional sandalwood that it either is or they’ve downplayed the perfumey elements on this one and as such it stands out like a sore thumb in the line. It has a very contoured sandalwood aroma, definitely aiming for the heartwood sort of scent, but with a bit of spice giving it a bit of richness. Perhaps as this is closer to my tastes than the florals, I found it fairly impressive for hitting the right notes, although overall it doesn’t differ that much from most heartwood sandalwoods.

The best of the line, unsurprisingly, is the Tokusen Tanka. We’re definitely flat into perfume ranges here, there’s almost nothing about this incense that will remind you of the traditional, rather it smells like someone’s fantastic, sultry perfume and as such may be a bit too much for an incense. It’s by far the boldest scent in the line, minty, sultry and modern like some of Shoyeido’s LISN line. Roughly it falls into a green tea/patchouli sort of area, without really being too strong on either note.

Lilac Tanka is by far the most synthetic smelling in this range, but that’s an opinion I almost always get with florals such as this, there’s a real soapy feel to this that reminds me of Indian incenses at times. Overall it’s about what you’d expect, lilac perfume, something not really all that attuned to my tastes.

There’s also another four boxes, mentioned above, that Daihatsu create that still work with perfume but end up in much more traditional areas. Of these I liked the Myo-jyou and Kaizan enough to buy boxes, but found over time that the perfumy nature made it so that I wasn’t reaching for them quite so much. I do wonder if I’d take a similar track with any of the Tankas, but I’d take that as a more traditionalist opinion. If you like modern scents, a sampler might be worth a look as I definitely think this line is more superior to, say, similar Nippon Kodo incenses.

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Nippon Kodo / New Morningstar / Aqua (Discontinued), Bloom, Earth (Discontinued), Grass

November 1, 2007 at 8:03 am (Artemisia (Mugwort, Wormwood), Bergamot, Black Currant, Chocolate, Cyclamen, Discontinued, Incense, Japan, Jasmine, Lavender, Lily, Mike, Nippon Kodo, Plum, Spice (Cinnamon Clove Nutmeg etc.), Tangerine, Tulip)

Nippon Kodo’s New Morningstar line includes four different incenses, all of which roughly align to one of the four elements. Each box contains 40 sticks and will run you about $5 a box, although package deals can be found that reduce this a little, and there are gift sets with ceramic burners.

For my money, a line like this seems targeted more at the casual incense lover. While I have a fondness for one of the blends in this series, the others strike me as possibly synthetic or synthetic seeming, in a way that will remind you of perfumed soap. Fortunately it’s only a mild note in the line and probably won’t bother most, but it was enough to make it hard for me to get fully behind these.

Aqua is a jasmine, tangerine and cyclamen blend that was already familiar to me due to a smokeless version Nippon Kodo has in their Ka-Fuh line (also called Aqua). While both versions are very close, I thought the watery nature of this incense was a little more prominent with the New Morningstar version. This blend strikes me as wet, with citrus accents, and the jasmine seems mostly sublimated to the blend rather than being obvious. I know the local store really prizes the Ka-Fuh version of this incense (and it appears to be the best selling of that line for NK), but for me it just doesn’t have a real cutting power to it and there’s just a bit of a synthetic feel that doesn’t work for me. But it does have a uniqueness to it that might appeal to those who want something light and floral.

Bloom looks like the fire incense with the red stick and packaging. It’s also the most floral of the four incenses with its white plum, muguet (lily of the valley) and tulip blend. This is the incense of the four I liked the least, and without looking at the ingredients I wouldn’t have even considered it next to other white plum incenses (it also makes me wonder if this corresponds to the Ka Fuh White Plum as well). It has a burn that reminds me more of a scented candle than an incense and is perhaps a tad on the sweet side for my tastes.

In comparison to the rest of the line, the Earth blend stands out like a sore thumb. Where the rest of the line usually has a strong floral note on top, this blend of black currant, cinnamon and chocolate features the cinnamon element as the oil note. I really liked this incense when I first bought it, it struck me as being the best of the chocolate-themed incenses I’d tried from Nippon Kodo (the other two would be the Café Time Mocha cones and the Fragrance Memories Paris Cafe blend) with all three elements playing off each other so that at times each of the three notes is dominant. While over time, it has struck me (and mostly in comparison to other incenses) as a slight touch soapy, it’s still quite enjoyable.

The last of the four has a strong air element to it with the lavender note blending with bergamot and artemesia. It’s less Grass than a wind blowing through a field and it has a rather dominant citrus/lavender oil to it as well as a slight floral touch. I can imagine lavender lovers might take to this one as it’s a pretty crisp blend, but like the whole line it’s difficult to see the blend as particularly distinctive.

In summary, I’m probably not the target audience for this line so much, particularly considering it’s more a floral line than a wood or resin one, but like a lot of Nippon Kodo incense, you have to admire the ambition at work. If your tastes are similar to mine, you might want to give the Earth a try, but if they’re more to the floral than these are inexpensive enough to be worth a try.

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Nippon Kodo / Yume-No-Yume (Dream of Dream) / Bamboo Leaf, Butterfly, Fern (Discontinued), Fiddlehead Fern, Goldfish, Horse-Tail Plant (Discontinued), Japanese Morning Glory, Maple Leaf, Pink Plum Flower, Whooping Crane)

September 21, 2007 at 12:59 pm (Ambergris, Aquatic / Marine / Sea, Banana, Bergamot, Black Currant, Camellia, Floral, Frankincense, Fruit, Geranium, Green Tea, Incense, Japan, Jasmine, Lemon, Mike, Mint, Musk, Nippon Kodo, Peach, Persimmon, Plum, Raspberry, Spice (Cinnamon Clove Nutmeg etc.), Tonka, Vanilla, Vetivert / Khus, Watermelon, Yuzu)

Nippon Kodo seem to be the largest Japanese incense company, especially when looking at all their various lines and collaborations. From their very inexpensive Morning Star Line all the way to the Most Exceptional Quality kyara line, the company has a wealth of different incenses, being one of the few Japanese companies to also have a bamboo stick line. In fact only Shoyeido has a similar wide range in styles and tastes.

As incense is generally a niche interest in the United States and usually allied with new age shops, there tends to be strong trends towards smokeless incense and all natural incense. From research, I think it’s very difficult to tell where a company diverges from using all natural ingredients to using organic if not entirely natural ingredients all the way to the art of perfumery where synthetic oils and ingredients are often taken for granted. Having wandered too often into the wake of mainstream and heavily synthetic colognes and perfumes, it’s easy to get turned off by the idea.

As far as I can tell one of the identifying features of an incense that has a healthy share of synthetic ingredients is how strong a stick smells without burning it. Natural ingredients by their lonesome don’t stand out very often from Japanese sticks, especially sandalwood and aloeswood heavy sticks, which is a far cry from sampling fresh Indian masalas. Nippon Kodo’s Yume-No-Yume line is a good example of an incense whose fresh stick could nearly scent a room without lighting it.

This line is rather elegantly presented for the modern consumer. The gift packs come with incense and a porcelain holder (both also sold separately) that mirrors the packaging art, usually a white background with slight Japanese art that reflects the nature of the incense. Yume-no-yume also comes in both stick and coil form, and while I haven’t tried the coils yet, the scents do seem eminently suited to that form (if maybe too much for smaller rooms). The only thing to watch out for in the packaging is the plastic holder that contains the incense and mini burner, it’s far too easy to cause a spill opening the holder (counterintuitively) the wrong way. Other than that bit of warning that becomes mitigated once you get used to it, I actually really like the packaging.

If I remember correctly, Nippon Kodo’s Fragrance Memories phases certain incenses in and out every so often and I believe they do something similar with this Yume-No-Yume line as I’ve happened across one incense that seems deleted (for now). Currently the line has nine different blends and the least impressive of these incenses is fine indeed.

Pink Plum Flower contains key notes of white plum, red plum and willow leaf bud. This listing of the ingredients will automatically give one the impression there’s something different at work here, as I don’t have a clear idea of what each of these three notes might be like. Like the whole line, the stick is strong and pungent, far more so than any natural Japanese plum flower incenses, most of which I’ve tried have been very mellow and light. In fact that sort of subtlety is what prevents me from being totally behind this blend, it may be the least distinctive blend in the range.

Goldfish is the other incense in the line that doesn’t quite come up the rest. While I’m generally very impressed at the way certain notes are blended for effect, I find it pretty hard to get used to the mint/watermelon/jasmine blend, especially with the whole water motif at work here. I’d almost forgotten jasmine was involved but the other two are quite strong. It’s definitely unusual, but a bit like a symphony not quite in synch.

Butterfly was the first blend I tried and won me over fairly quickly. Here, the key notes, geranium, vanilla and cinnamon all blend almost flawlessly into a scent that reminds me more of amber than any of the other blends. Part of it is not terribly far from Shoyeido’s Horin/Nijo scent, but as a far more perfumed scent this is much stronger in impact and not as subtle.

Bamboo Leaf might be my favorite of the whole line, it appeals to my taste for sweet/green and patchouli-esque hints, despite the fact it doesn’t appear to have patchouli as an ingredient. The green tea is way out in front and surprisingly the yuzu citrus and lemon flower notes don’t really give that much of an impression of a lemon tang to the tea, I get the impression they mostly add to the complexity. This is probably the one I’d start with first if you’re new to the line.

Maple Leaf is another favorite in the line, its hints of persimmon, tonka bean (think vanilla), and ambergris blend perfectly into a rich and somewhat fresh scent. While this doesn’t strike me as quite as amber-like as Butterfly, it’s obviously by ingredient in that general class, but the name of the incense isn’t misleading either, with some hints that will likely remind you of a pancake breakfast, partially due to just how sweet it is.

Whooping Crane might be the least intense blend in the line and you can see why the choice is made. With a winter/snow motif, there’s a very slight mint hint to what is a rather perfectly blended combo of camellia, musk and frankincense. I detect the musk at times, but frankincense can often be a tough call since quality can vary so much. As far as a packaging theme to incense scent relationship, this is about as spot on in the line as it can get. Very sultry.

For fans of fruit scents, you can probably do no better than Fiddlehead Fern, which takes berry intensity into its own level. Lots of fruity incenses strike me as pretty synthetic or unsatisfying, so it’s kind of a jolt to find out that the one I like the best might be the most synthetic in the bunch. Very fruity and rich with the raspberry middle almost, if not quite obliterating the black currant and leaf bud of peach notes. Quite impressive overall.

My second favorite in the line is probably the Morning Glory, partially as it strikes me as YNY’s most exotic blend. The green banana in particular is fabulous and the vetivert gives it most of its Eastern tinge, almost musky and dense. I’m used to bergamot as being slightly citrus-y, but it’s kind of hard to detect here. Above all, the oil scent is just a little unusual and it really adds quite a bit of character, although at the odd time it might seem like everything clashes – only for a moment.

The strangely named Horse-Tail Plant is not likely to win over the western consumer, but it ought to as it’s the weirdest incense in the line. For one thing, it’s the only incense with only two named notes, strawberry flower and oil-seed rape blossoms. Neither name gives any hint to the blend involved here which is almost beyond description. The small print says “Fruity-green. The refreshingly bitter scent of new leaf buds in the moning dew.” Bitter might be the only descriptor that resonates with me, but again it’s a bitter I’ve not quite experienced before.

The deleted line is called Fern, and I assume Fiddlehead Fern was its replacement. You can see why in some ways as other incences in the line capture similar qualities better. The notes are maple leaf, yuzu-citrus and bitter orange and if you scroll up you can see all but the latter note in other blends. Here they don’t seem to blend quite as well, although I may think differently after another sample or two.

Overall, this is a really neat line. Whatever you might consider synthetic, the scents here are clean, smooth and not headache inducing in any way, they’ve certainly changed my mind about the potential of the meeting of perfumery and blending arts. And they’re also very affordable, a package of 12 sticks or 5 coils (without holder) running you about $6-$7. I’m actually looking forward to the next switch out to see what they come up with next.

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