Taking you to the wonderful world of Incense. Column#2 : The History of Koh (1) Koh introduced to Japan and Takimono culture of Heian court nobles Ganjin, the Buddhist priest from Tang, reached the soil of Japan in 754 A.D.. The venerable priest, well-known for introducing Buddhism precepts into Japan, should also be remembered for his accomplishment in Koh history. Through medical incense and skill of Nerikoh (Blended Incense balls), Ganjin introduced thriving Koh culture from Tang Dynasty into Japan. Takimono, a kind of Nerikoh, is made of powdered incense for medical use and liaison substances such as nectar and treacle. As there was no fragrance incense before Nerikoh in Japan, people had burnt medical incense to generate fragrances. As Nerikohis a mixture of ingredient, different mixture created subtly different fragrances. As a result, people made their original and favorite fragrance through original concoction. In this context, incense was no longer religious offerings, but tasteful pleasure called Soradakimono to enjoy graceful aroma. Esthetic and artistic world of graceful Koh in Japan started. Court nobles in Heian Period (the eighth century) concocted original Takimono in search of graceful and sophisticated fragrances for personal use. Different blending was used for different time, occasion or season, according to the mood of the moment. To impregnate their clothes or to suffuse their rooms for guests, court people burnt their favorite blend of incense. “Takimonoawase”, an incense game where participants competed for better fragrance started in this period, too. Not quite satisfied with simple fragrances of flowers and fruits in nature, court nobles created fragrances for their pleasure, thus established a foundation of peculiar incense culture that was firmly attached to keen sense of season. Essential quality of Koh-Do was formed in this way.