Feel like a noble princess – Surround yourself with lovely scents

Have you ever burned incense before?
I assume that there are incenses in other countries as well.
However, Japanese incense may be quite different from other incense.
This time, I will introduce incenses that are unique to Japan.

Let’s enjoy fragrant incenses ♪

History of Incense

First, I will briefly introduce the history of incense.
In Japan, incenses were introduced around the same time Buddhism was introduced in 538 CE.
Incenses were then enjoyed by aristocrats around the 9th century.
After the 17th century, the proper etiquette for using incenses was established and it became part of the Japanese culture.
Before, only people with economic power had incenses, but now it has widely spread to the common people as well.

The scent of violets

First, I will introduce the scent of violets.

Violets: 540 yen (tax included)
Violets are flowers that blossom all over Japan, especially along the roadside in the spring.
This violet incense had a reddish-purple color.
The incense container is very stylish.
Nowadays, there are lots of incense that are being packaged in more modern containers.
The thing next to the incense is the included incense holder.

It looks like this with the incense holder.
It is best to place this on a heat-resistant plate, but since I didn’t have one, I bought a separate incense holder.

If you only use the included incense holder, it can be dangerous when the ashes fall as shown in the photo, so please place it on a plate.
Now, I will burn the incense!
Light the end of the incense, gently blow out the flame, and let it burn.

This is what it looks like when smoke is coming out.
Place the incense away from you and enjoy its lingering scent.
If a guest is coming over, burning an incense beforehand is a Japanese way of receiving guests.
The scent was stronger than I expected, but it was quite calming.
The scent that filled the air reminded me of Japan, as if I was inside a temple.
Just staring at the burning incense made me feel calmer. Time seemed to pass slowly too.
I burned my incense before I went to bed, and on top of getting a good sleep, the scent remained until the next morning.

The scent of white plum blossoms

Next, I will introduce the scent of white plum blossoms.

White plum blossoms are winter flowers (in full bloom in February).
Like its name, they are white plum blossoms.
First, I tried smelling the incense on its own. Among the three I am introducing today, this one is the least fragrant.
It has a very refreshing scent.

When I burned the incense, it smelled just as strong as the other two incenses but with a little more freshness and sweetness.
Out of the ones I’m introducing this time, my favorite is this white plum blossom scent.
It made me feel very calm.

The scent of Japanese gentians

Lastly, I will introduce the scent of Japanese gentians.

Japanese gentians: 540 yen (tax included)
Japanese gentians are autumn flowers that bloom around the Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu areas of Japan.
They are blue flowers.
I tried burning the incense.

Japanese gentians have a refreshing scent.
It feels like a luxury fragrance.
It is a very calming scent too.
This smells more fragrant when it was inside the bottle rather than when it was burning.
And those were the incenses!
The violet, white plum blossom, and Japanese gentians all turned to ashes in about 10 minutes.
Even in that short amount of time, the incense leaves the room smelling very nice.
If you burn too many, the smell can be overpowering so please be careful.

There are many more scents of incense in Japan.
Hope you find the scent you like♪
Written by yui