The Tale of Genji and Plum Blossoms
How have you been?
Previously, we explored the Six Classical Incense Blends (Rikushu no Takimono), representative of the fragrance culture of Japan's Heian period.
This time, let's take a closer look at one of them: Baika, or plum blossoms.
Baika appears in Chapter 32, "Umegae" ("The Plum Tree Branch"), of The Tale of Genji. The chapter includes the story of an incense-blending competition at Rokujo-in, Genji's residence.
In preparation for the marriage of Princess Akashi, Hikaru Genji's only daughter, to the Crown Prince, Genji asks four women—Lady Murasaki, Lady Asagao, Lady Hanachirusato, and Lady Akashi—to prepare incense blends for the princess to take with her.
For Heian-period aristocrats, who did not have the same bathing customs we do today, perfuming their clothing with incense was part of personal grooming.
They cultivated the ability to distinguish subtle differences in fragrance and took care to create blends that expressed their individuality, character, and refinement.
In today's terms, this might be called a signature scent—a form of personal branding through fragrance.
Baika was blended by Lady Murasaki, the princess's foster mother.
Lady Asagao prepared Kurobo, Lady Hanachirusato prepared Kayo, and the princess's birth mother, Lady Akashi, prepared Kunoe-ko, an incense blend for perfuming clothing.
The events of "Umegae" are said to have taken place around what would now be February 10.
That happens to be the birthday of my mother, who first introduced me to incense.
Somehow, this chapter of The Tale of Genji, centered on mothers and mother figures caring for a daughter, makes me feel a connection across a thousand years.
Baika is an elegant, floral fragrance inspired by plum blossoms, evoking the arrival of spring.
During the Heian period, there was a custom of using Baika, a traditional kneaded incense blend, only in spring.
Enjoying the color and fragrance of plum blossoms while burning Baika incense indoors may have been a particularly evocative way to appreciate the season.
As you experience the fragrance of BAIKA, why not imagine the women in The Tale of Genji carefully blending incense with Princess Akashi in mind as she prepared for marriage?
BAIKA | Incense Cones –
Full Size
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