Excellent Shu Koh Koku incense - Medium box, 100 short sticks

Aloeswood - Sacred wood used in incense
In Japan aloeswood is seen as a sacred and important wood. It is one of the most distinguished ingredients of some Japanese incense. During the Kamakura period (1185-1333) the Japanese began using various raw woods such as aloeswood in the making of incense. Some incense was used in a more recreational way while others were used in the most important of religious ceremonies. This led to a classification system for grading the qualities of aloeswood. The very finest quality aloeswood is referred to as Kyara. Good quality aloeswood fetches very high prices and this is reflected in the prices of the highest quality aloeswood incenses.

Aloeswood is also an important wood in the Middle East and in many places is burned daily to accompany prayer. It is also known as agarwood, eaglewood, oud or gaharu.

The wood itself has no significant aroma. Aloeswood is obtained from the evergreen daphne genus tree. When a fungus infects the tree a resin begins to form. When the trees dies this resin continues to harden and mature. This resin imbued wood is then collected for incense and burning purposes.

In Japan it is considered a great honour to receive a gift of fine aloeswood or Kyara.

Baieido Incense - High quality Japanese incense manufacturer
Baieido is one of the oldest traditional incense producers in Japan and has been producing a range of pure and high quality incense for over 300 years. The company has a long history, which can be traced back to the Muromachi period in Japanese history (1338 to 1573). The founder of Baieido, Kakuuemon Yamatoya, became a wholesaler of medicinal herbs in Sakai city during this time. It was a well known trading port, where demand for good quality incense was high.

By 1657, Kakuuemon Yamatoya was specialising in selling incense ingredients and incense sticks and was able to call himself Jinkoya Sakubei. Jinkoya meant ‘aloeswood trader,’ and it was a name that only authorised medicinal wholesalers, who specialised in incense, in Sakai were able to call themselves.

Later the name of the business changed to Nakata Baieido, still making incense with methods that had been handed down for generations. Baieido is now recognised as one of the highest quality incense manufacturers in the world today blending the finest aromatic woods and resins to produce a natural, mild, low-smoke incense stick of superb quality and aroma.

Since Jinkoya’s incense work, the time-honoured traditions and incense formulas have passed on down through the centuries and the company continues to make incense to the oldest recipes.

Baieido take pride in using both traditional incense stick making processes alongside more modern manufacturing techniques and new technology.

When Baiedio incense products are being made, they go through 12 keys stages.

1. The natural perfume, which is a key component of the incense sticks, it carefully controlled and analysed in the laboratory.
2. The aloes and sandalwoods are milled and crushed together into a powder form.
3. Next the powder and dyes are blended together.
4. The mixed materials are put through a sieve to remove any impurities.
5. The materials are kneaded to form a clay-like substance, called tama.
6. The tama is put through a machine to form stick shapes and are then laid on a tray and cut to a set length.
7. The incense sticks are dried out and any that aren’t straight are removed.
8. The sticks of incense are cut into different lengths.
9. The sticks are dried for several days.
10. The incense sticks are adjusted with a board, to help prevent them becoming bent.
11. Each individual incense stick is carefully inspected, then bound together with a fixed weight.
12. The sticks are checked again, before being packed up.