Blog

How are you doing? What day is it today? There's an anniversary every day. Personally, I think there are some anniversaries that are just commercials (lol), but considering that in China and Jap...

The Tale of Genji and Kurokata

How are you doing? Previously, we learned about the " Rokushu no kokubutsu ," the fragrance that represents the Heian period. This time, we'll be sharing some fun facts about one of them, Kuroka...

Incense ingredients

How are you doing? There are many ingredients used in incense. Most of them are familiar spices or herbal medicines. Recently, incense with a perfumed flavor has been produced using essential oils...

Incense making workshop

How are you doing? I am often asked, "Can you make incense?" I often answer, "Yes, I can. It's the same as cooking." (laughs) The workshop offered by Bridge and Blend is an opportunity to create ...

Japan's Oldest Blend - MUKUSA NO TAKIMONO

Scents from the Heian period (794-1185), when The Tale of Genji was written. It is probably the oldest recorded "Japanese fragrance blends" that have been handed down to the present.The term ...

Ten Virtue of incense

The "Ten Virtue of Incense" is a poem that expresses the benefits of incense in a straightforward and elegant manner by Huang Tingjian who is poet in the 11th century in China. It is said that it ...

Ingredient — Tabuko

It is one of the raw materials for incense, and is read as "TABUKO". It is the bark of a tall evergreen tree of the genus Tabunoki (Camellia sinensis). The bark is dried, peeled off, and ground in...

Ingredient — Turmeric

It is one of the raw materials for incense, and is read as "NYUKOU". It is the rhizome of turmeric, a perennial herb of the ginger family. This is the "autumn turmeric," which flowers in the ...

Ingredient — Benzoin

It is one of the raw materials for incense, and is read as "ANSOKUKOU". It is the resin of a tall evergreen tree of the Egonaceae family found in Southeast Asia, including the Malay Peninsula. The...

Ingredient — Patchouli Leaves

It is one of the raw materials for incense, and is read as "KAKKOU". Its English name is "Patchouli" which is also used in essential oil. It is made by drying the stems and leaves of a perennial p...

Ingredient — Spikenard

It is one of the raw materials for incense, and is read as "KANSHOU". It is the dried roots and stems of a perennial alpine plant of the Phellodendron family that grows only in the mountains of th...

Ingredient — Frankincense

It is one of the raw materials for incense, and is read as "NYUKOU". It is the resin of a tall, evergreen tree of the genus Boswellia in the olivaceae family from the Middle East. It is a rubbery ...