Incense Appreciation (Koh-do)
Ms. Kiyoko Morita describes Koh-do (incense appreciation) as being “as old as Kado (flower arrangement) and Chado (tea ceremony). Using a small piece of heated incense wood, we share its natural fragrance. Once this small piece is heated and the aroma is emitted, it’s gone. But in that moment, we can share the same experience that people experienced many hundreds of years ago”. She enthusiastically explained her fond memories of sharing this part of Japanese culture with people, including at previous Japan Festivals in Boston for nearly half a decade. She prepared an incense burner at one of the tents for participants to experience the fragrances. Participants were also allowed to make incense-scented bookmarks to take home with them.
The Boston Study Group of the Shino School of Incense was formed in 1986 as a small informal gathering of individuals interested in learning the Japanese traditional art of Incense.
Made up of about 20 members, the group meets up a few times a year to play traditional incense games, such as guessing different fragrances based on classic poems and literary tales. Ms. Morita enjoys the group with whom she shares very special fragrances from small pieces of natural incense wood that came from South East Asian countries. Shoyeido USA, an incense company in Boulder, Colorado, has set up an incense shop at the festival for the past two years, and they have proven to be quite popular.
Ms. Morita said that their presence allows her to take a step back from providing the Japan Festival workshops. She wishes to relay to readers, “I feel that people rely too heavily on our visual and audible senses. I would like to suggest spending a little more time enjoying scents and fragrances. During the pandemic, we spend more time at home. Scents are strongly connected with memories. In one classic story, a man who became separated from his lover, found her through the special fragrance of her kimono that he remembered. So perhaps we each can select some fragrance that bring back special moments from our lives”.
