Cover your hand lightly above the burner to “listen” to the fragrance. These graceful gestures are part of kodo etiquette. (Photo: PIXTA)

Left: In kodo, a combination of six types of incense are used.
Right: Sandalwood has a woody aroma. In addition to incense, it is also used for carving Buddhist statues and making crafts.

As the culture of scent developed in Japan, it has been inextricably linked with the wood of incense trees. Incense, or koboku literally “fragrant wood” in Japanese, is said to have come to Japan with the introduction of Buddhism to the country, and it was initially used to purify the space in front of a Buddhist altar. Starting in the 8th century, aristocrats began burning incense pastilles, a mixture of powdered fragrant wood and other aromatic ingredients, to scent their rooms and clothing. The ceremonial aspect of burning incense later became popular among samurai. Eventually, the art of appreciating incense and fragrance, became codified as kodo in the 16th century.

There are two main type of koboku incense used in incense ceremonies: sandalwood and agarwood. From trees in the Santalaceae family, sandalwood has a sweet aroma and is used for items associated with Buddhist altars. Agarwood is a tree in the Thymelaeaceae family which secrets a resin when cut or felled. This resin, solidified over many years, becomes an aromatic substance that emits scent when warmed. Although the fragrance varies from tree to tree, the highest grade of agarwood resin, called kyara, has been highly prized since ancient times.

In kodo, participants “listen” to the fragrance as they appreciate the aroma of incense warmed in small ceramic burners called koro. Each scent’s individual qualities are then described in terms of flavor, perhaps as sweet, sour, or bitter, for example. The incense ceremony also involves courtly games such as kumiko. Participants listen to several different types of incense, describing the aromatic differences and identifying the one related to a specific waka poem. Even slight changes in the weather or humidity level can change the fragrance of an incense, making this game quite difficult. The point is not whether one wins or loses, but the pleasure of savoring the scent wafting from a chip of fragrant wood, letting it take your imagination to seasonal pleasures and literary fancy.