Tracing the origins of incense in Japan, Ryoko (PingMag) writes that "it is believed that it was introduced to Japan in the 6th century, along with Buddhism. At that time, incense consisted simply of small chips from an aromatic tree called “koboku (fragrant wood)”, or a ground powder from that tree".
In her piece, Incense Design of Scent and Form, she looks at history, design and purpose.
In Europe and the US, I have seen incense in the form of sticks but never as the round shaped "neriko" (picture above, from PingMag piece).
It looks especially appealing in that sea shell and Ryoko tells us that either honey or plum flavors these "neriko".
Worth noting are the "Fumiko" paper dolls (picture above, also from PingMag piece), a take on the tradition of "Fumiko" incense powder stylishly wrapped in Japanese paper which Exposhop Japon offers in a variety of styles.
End of the scents for this Tokyo Thursdays #40 (a round number)
Last Thursday: Japanese Delicacies: Monja-yaki (dried squid, corn and cabbage)
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