Naturense - Oriental Mind - 40 short sticks

Japanese incense (33) - High quality, pure
Japanese incense (speaking in general terms) is refined, pure, light smoke and rich in natural ingredients such as sandalwood. They don't usually have the thin wooden stick centre that is often found in Indian and other incense sticks. They are normally pure incense right the way through the stick. They are often designed with meditation in mind. Due to the high quality manufacturing processes the incense goes through they can be a little bit more expensive than other incense on the market.

To find out more read:
The History of Japanese Incense

Nippon Kodo Incense (22) - High quality Japanese incense
The Japanese incense company, Nippon Kodo, was founded over four centuries ago and originally began by producing high quality incense for the Emperor of Japan. The company has continued to thrive ever since, now accounting for more than 50% of the entire incense industry in Japan.

Over 400 years ago, Jyuemon Takai, or Koju, was the main creator of high quality incense for the Emperor of Japan and his court. Skilled in the art of incense production, he made incense that produced rare and very special aromas. Another key name in the incense creation world, especially during the Meiji restoration period in the 19th century, was Yujiro Kito, and together their recipes and original formulas for these special incenses have been passed down the centuries and many are still used and produced by Nippon Kodo today.

In particular, there are three of the early incense products that have remained very popular throughout the centuries, both in Japan, and other countries, such as the United States. These three types of incense are Hana-no-Hana, Wakako and Taikan.

The company have a great philosophy about the importance of celebrating incense and recognise that, although many people simply love the ability of incense to fragrance a room, for others, their use comes down to spiritual and religious traditions. In fact, Nippon Kodo say that, through the production of their traditional Japanese incense they aim to, ‘cherish the ancient traditions and values’.

Since 1942, Nippon Kodo has become a major international company, catering for the world incense market. Their modern factory base uses the most advanced methods and technology to produce high quality incense, to traditional, tried and tested formulas.

The ingredients of Nippon Kodo incense are all high quality and are sourced from around the world. Experts help locate and harvest the rare aromatic woods, natural gums, resins and other ingredients used to make their incense. Once acquired, the ingredients are processed by hand, and by machine, in their eight factories in Japan and Hong Kong.