New Book Release: “Nippon no Koh (The scent of Japan)”

“Nippon no Koh (The scent of Japan)”

Release date: April 22, 2025

Japanese incense culture boasts a long and profound history that is a source of global pride.
It is believed to have been introduced to Japan with Buddhism, dating back 1,500 years.
The relationship between people and scent has evolved with the times.
“What does scent mean to the Japanese people?”
This is a visual book that compiles the history, culture, and aesthetics nurtured over time, presented through easy-to-understand columns and beautiful photographs/historical materials.
Nippon Kodo Group created this volume with the venerable publisher Seibundo Shinkosha for its 450th anniversary, featuring a unique composition unlike any other book in its category.

Fragrance Expo (Kaori-haku)

EXPO INCENSE – Fragrance Expo Limited Product

Release date: April 18, 2025

The Fragrance Expo (Kaori-haku), which has been held since last year, is an event where three long-established incense manufacturers collaborate, taking place in their stores in Ginza and Kyoto from April 18 to May 18, 2025.
It began with the desire to “share the knowledge cultivated over many years, enhance the appeal of scent, and convey Japanese incense culture to a wide range of consumers.”
Under the theme “FRAGRANCE OF THE WORLD,” in addition to scent experience workshops and a stamp rally, this year marks the joint development of the “Kaori-haku” brand, leading to product development that transcends company boundaries.

“Za Koju” Renewal

“Za Koju” started in 2019 at the Koju Ginza flagship store and online, under the theme of “Inheritance and Creation of Japanese Incense Culture,” as a place to enjoy, learn about, and create Japanese incense culture.
To mark the 450th anniversary, the venue for Japanese incense culture experiences is being expanded to include temples in Kamakura, and the menu is being enhanced with options like incense experiences for inbound tourists. It will be relaunched on April 18.

New Incense Release: Koju’s “Takai Juemon 2025 No.4”

Release date: April 18, 2025

Koju, founded in Kyoto at the beginning of the Tensho era (late 16th century) with Yasuda Mataemon Minamoto no Mitsuhiro, a descendant of the Seiwa Genji clan, as its first head, served the Imperial Palace.
The fourth-generation Koju was summoned by Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu and established the brand’s reputation in Kyoto while traveling between Sunpu and Edo.
The eighth-generation Koju in the Edo period, Takai Juemon, was a master of incense known in the tea ceremony world as Kougushi Juemon (Incense Artisan Juemon). The records left by Juemon detail a number of Koju’s distinguished kneaded incense (neri-kō), including the famous “Chitose,” which was presented to Emperor Kōkaku, as well as various masterpieces consistently supplied to the grand masters of different schools of the tea ceremony.
As the eighth head, he left behind the “Koju Takai Juemon Family’s Notes on Neri-kō Blending,” which conveys his techniques and philosophy to the present day.

This masterpiece, bearing the name “Takai Juemon,” was created with the finest incense ingredients and the latest technology, carefully and wholeheartedly inheriting this tradition.
It is a fresh scent where the transparent gardenia and flamboyant rose harmonize with frankincense and sandalwood.

Incense Sticks
Content: 50 sticks (with incense holder)
Price: ¥3,300 (tax included)

Release of the “Six Blended Incenses (Mukusa no Takimono)”, a reproduction of Heian Period scents

Release date: April 18, 2025

The “Six Blended Incenses” are the representative Takimono (kneaded incense) of the Heian period. The six types are: “Baika” (Plum Blossom), “Kayō” (Lotus Leaf), “Jiju” (Courtier), “Kikka” (Chrysanthemum), “Rakuyō” (Fallen Leaves), and “Kurobō” (Black). The recipes varied depending on the family that passed them down or the person who blended them. Historical texts like Kunshū Ruishō and Kōhisho meticulously record ancient incense recipes, handling of ingredients, and storage methods. This masterpiece is a limited production of the “Six Blended Incenses” for the 450th anniversary, reproducing the recipes of Kōawase (incense blending) masters from these precious documents.

“Baika” (Plum Blossom): Minamoto no Kimitada’s recipe. A flamboyant scent, resembling a plum blossom, with the sourness of clove accentuated by aloeswood and sweet spikenard.
“Kayō” (Lotus Leaf): The nun Yamada’s recipe. A light scent, resembling a lotus flower, with a cooling sensation, using aloeswood and sandalwood.
“Jiju” (Courtier): Hachijō no miya’s recipe. A calm scent, like an autumn breeze, with aloeswood and spikenard harmonized with matured turmeric.
“Kikka” (Chrysanthemum): Shirakawa-in and Taira no Tadamori’s recipe. A scent created to resemble a chrysanthemum, using aloeswood, shellac, and frankincense.
“Rakuyō” (Fallen Leaves): Go-Komatsu-in’s recipe. A scent that evokes falling leaves, using aloeswood, shellac, and musk.
“Kurobō” (Black): Suzaku-in’s recipe. A profound and highly formal scent, rich in aloeswood, musk, and clove.

Nerikō (Kneaded Incense)
Content: 3 pellets
Price: ¥4,950 to ¥5,500 (tax included)

Release of “Rakoku Akigasumi”

Release date: May 1, 2025

The haze of a spring dawn reflects the future.
The layers of iridescent clouds are like a bird taking flight on the wings of hope.
Into this fleeting yet mysterious scene melts Rakoku, the name for aloeswood with a pure sweetness in the world of scent, giving birth to “Rakoku Akigasumi.”
The scent begins with a coolness and slowly moves into a soft world.
Eventually, a quietly emanating, refined, and elegant sweetness is widely released into the mind and space.

Incense Sticks
Content: 30g
Price: ¥20,900 (tax included)

Release of “Kyara Fugaku”

Release date: May 1, 2025

Since ancient times, people have found the highest value in the celestial fragrance of aloeswood, which is believed to lead one to a realm of great nobility and beauty.
This incense was created with the utmost skill from rare and precious fragrant wood.
It is named “Kyara Fugaku” (Fugaku meaning Mount Fuji), comparing it to the pure, immortal, and unparalleled peak praised as Hōraisan (Mount Penglai).

Kyara Fugaku – Kumo (Cloud)
The smoldering scent changes its character over time, inviting one to a unique space that stirs and fills the heart, like a serene and soft sea of clouds.
It is a timeless masterpiece of scent, a luxurious blend where the profound sweetness of Vietnamese aloeswood, the tranquil and silently rich sourness and spiciness of Borneo aloeswood, and the rare and precious highest-grade aloeswood (Kyara) are richly and skillfully used to consolidate the entire fragrance, allowing this overflowing scent to drift endlessly.

Incense Sticks
Content: 60 sticks
Price: ¥1,100,000 (tax included)

Kyara Fugaku – En (Circle)
Kyara is the supreme treasure.
The fragrance nurtured by the earth in its embrace over a long time possesses the principle and wisdom of heaven and earth.
The scent born from the dignified sweetness of Vietnamese aloeswood, the powerful spiciness of Borneo aloeswood, and the gentle sourness of Indonesian aloeswood is enveloped in the highest-grade Kyara, creating an incense that harmonizes with heaven and earth.
It is a masterpiece for you to savor the world of scent that changes infinitely with time.

Incense Sticks
Content: 60 sticks
Price: ¥330,000 (tax included)