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

Product Information

Incense weight: 35 grams
Number of sticks: Approximately 100 short sticks. This may vary slightly though as the quantity of incense is based upon weight, not the number of sticks
Stick length: Approx 13.5 cms
Burn time per stick: About 30 minutes per stick
Manufacturer: Baieido, Japan

They say: Excellent Shukohkoku contains high quality sandalwood, premium Vietnamese aloeswood, in a blend of traditional Chinese herbs and spices.

What Holisticshop staff think

"So here we scale the mountain and arrive in the land of hand made Belgium chocolates, Havana cigars and lightly chilled Cristal Champagne. But it is important to say this is just an incense. It doesn't fly or sing songs, it burns just the same as any other incense. But you want me to say it smells great, don't you? Don't you?

Well it has to be said it is amazing. The smell is captivating, smokey, strong, deep, earthy, yet refined and reeks of quality. Some of the sweetness of the pure sandalwood incenses has been lost and been replaced by a very high quantity of premium Vietnamese aloeswood, in fact this contains the highest grade and quantity of aloeswood of any of the main lines of the Baieido range. So I think it is fair to say we are pretty near the top of the aloeswood mountain in incense terms.

Having said all that aloeswood may not be for everyone. Some prefer to stick with sandalwood. So I would suggest if you wish to enter into the sphere of aloeswood incense then first you could try something like Excellent Kobunboku to get your sight in. This will give you a flavour and then if you are hit with a moment of deserved self-indulgence then you could purchase this in knowledge that you know you will appreciate it.

It is highly recommended for meditation, sacred ceremonies, important spiritual activities and special occasions. It makes a wonderful gift to someone who really appreciates fine incense. The incense comes in a precision made lightweight rubberwood box (made from the old trees from rubber plantations) with embossed gold Japanese lettering that really sets the whole package off."

By Brett Almond

Dictionary Terms Explained

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.