The Japanese put their stamp on many of the technologies they inherited from China. One such example is the inro. The inro is a small lacquered case that hangs from a kimono's silken cord. Inside the inro are perfumes and aromatics for healing or inhaling. The perfume, Opium, by Yves St. Laurent is fashioned in the style of an inro. Another Japanese variation on Chinese traditions was the invention of the incense clock. The Chinese were masters at creating incense that burned slowly and evenly.

In fact, they were so masterful were that incense was used to tell time. The sticks were either marked with notches (each notch marked a time interval, such as an hour), or laid in basins which measured the length of the incense ash. A pleasant, subtle reminder of the passage of time, the incense clock was used until the mid-1900's by Japanese geisha, who were paid by the number of incense sticks that had to be lit during a client's visit.

Incense was also a popular form of entertainment. In Lady Murasaki Shikibu's Tale of Genji, the world's first novel (written ca. 1025 A.D.), the narrator mentions the "incense parties" of the Heian dynasty. In these games, players sniffed different fragrances and discussed their attributes through poetry. The scent tallies were kept on beautiful papers stored in lacquered boxes. Sprigs and slivers of this or that aromatic were contained in lovely porcelain containers. Lady Shikibu describes the beginning of the ceremony, as performed by Prince Genji 1,000 years ago:

The princess had sent perfumes kneaded into rather large balls into two jars, indigo and white, the former decorated with a pine branch and the latter a branch of plum. Though the cords and knots were conventional, one immediately detected the hand of a lady of taste. Inspecting the gifts and finding them admirable, the prince came upon a poem in faint ink which he softly read to himself.

'Its blossoms fallen, the plum is of no further use. Let its fragrance sink into the sleeves of another.'

[...] Genji's reply, tied to a spray of rose plum, was on red paper. [...]

'The perfume must be hidden lest people talk, But I cannot take my eye from so lovely a blossom.' (513.)

Incense appreciation was a serious matter, and during the 17th and 18th centuries, schools were created for the study of incense, called koh-do. In koh-do, participants learned the qualities, character and benefits of various scents, and the effects of these scents on behavior and moods. Today, kumikoh, a ceremonial variation of koh-do, is popular among Japanese culture enthusiasts. It's a serious, but delightful, game that tests particpants' ability to smell. Here's a quick version of how it's played:

One person, the host, selects three or four different types of incense. Depending on the sensory abilities of the group, the difference between each type of incense may be subtle or obvious. Each of the incenses is lit and passed around for each guest to sniff, one at a time. Then the guests write down on pretty slips of paper their guesses for which incenses are which. A more complicated form of the game involves a literary component as well. The host may select a poem, lines or phrases from which correspond to a particular incense. The participants then try to guess which lines of the poem allude to which pieces of incense sniffed.

What a nice idea for a dinner party. Now if I could just find a restaurant that offered sushi delivery...

Bibliography

-Bedini, Silvio A. "The Scent of Time: A Study of the Use of Fire and Incense for Time Measurement in Oriental Countries." Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 53 (1963): 5-47.
-Morita, Kiyoko. The Book of Incense: Enjoying the Traditional Art of Japanese Scents. New York: Kodansha International, Ltd., 1992.
-Morris, Edwin T. Fragrance: The Story of Perfume from Cleopatra to Chanel. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1984.
-Shikibu, Murasaki. The Tale of Genji. Translated by Edward G. Seidensticker. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1983.

Photo Credits:

Both photos from Lord Redesdale's Tales of Old Japan (London: MacMillan and Co., Ltd., 1908).