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The Fragrant Path: A Guide to the Japanese Art of Incense
For over 1,400 years, the Japanese art of incense has painted the air, its fragrant wisps of smoke like the soft monochromatic hues of a sumi ink painting. As one of Japan’s most comprehensive art forms, incense is both an expression of Japanese culture and a reflection of the poetic, literary, spiritual, and historic events that shaped its refinement.
When we “listen” to Japanese incense, we listen to the whispers of nature, enjoying a dialogue with emperors and shōguns, samurai and tea masters, merchants and courtiers, through a shared experience with fragrance that transcends time. Allowing us to touch the wisdom of nature directly, Japanese incense is capable of teaching us not only about its rare and fragrant ingredients but about ourselves as well.
Filled with practical suggestions, useful tips, and in-depth discussions of the ritual appreciation of Kōdō (the incense ceremony) and kumikō (incense games), The Fragrant Path guides readers through the rich history, selection, use, and appreciation of Japanese incense. Whether you’ve just lit your first stick of incense or burned ten thousand, The Fragrant Path offers a rare, in-depth look into the Japanese art of incense.
When we “listen” to Japanese incense, we listen to the whispers of nature, enjoying a dialogue with emperors and shōguns, samurai and tea masters, merchants and courtiers, through a shared experience with fragrance that transcends time. Allowing us to touch the wisdom of nature directly, Japanese incense is capable of teaching us not only about its rare and fragrant ingredients but about ourselves as well.
Filled with practical suggestions, useful tips, and in-depth discussions of the ritual appreciation of Kōdō (the incense ceremony) and kumikō (incense games), The Fragrant Path guides readers through the rich history, selection, use, and appreciation of Japanese incense. Whether you’ve just lit your first stick of incense or burned ten thousand, The Fragrant Path offers a rare, in-depth look into the Japanese art of incense.
352 pages, Hardcover
Published November 22, 2024
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February 26, 2025
Originally written for Olfactory Rescue Service.
There is truly a scarcity of books on incense in the English language, even more so if you narrow it down to incenses originating from a specific country. The majority of incense books in English are aimed at the Wiccan market, perhaps the most pivotal book on that account was Scott Cunningham's The Complete Book of Incense, Oils and Brews. This was a book I bought fairly early in my incense explorations, and after a few goes with recipes, it led to an impression that I wouldn't be any good at handcrafting incense. I also had Wylundt's Book of Incense which covered similar territory, although with very different recipes, and then there's Carl F. Neal's more modern book on similar territory, Incense: Crafting & Use of Magickal Scents which roughly postdated any interest I had in crafting incense. There also appear to be a few others in the same vein. However, my experiments convinced me to concentrate on other hobbies, long before I realized there was a lot of deep technique and a huge range of quality in any ingredients that meant there would be a lot of learning to achieve even a basic level of competence in blending an incense with a passing grade.
For Japanese incense I had thought there were two existing books written for the English speaking market, one Kiyoko Morita's The Book of Incense: Enjoying the Traditional Art of Japanese Scents, and then David Pybus' Kodo: The Way of Incense, the latter of which I was pretty sure I read once upon a time. For sure the thing I remember the most about the one I read was that it came with incense that I remember being abrasive, and the book itself was quite threadbare and basic. A search on Japanese incense books turns up some other books other than these two but most notably it now turns up this new book by Michael Cousineau, The Fragrant Path: A Guide to the Japanese Art of Incense. While I'm sure there are Japanese books that thoroughly cover the subject of incense, in fact I'd imagine some of these were used in Cousineau's research, The Fragrant Path is unquestionably the deepest and most profound book about the subject in the English language written to date. It both fills a void I knew was there as well revealing a great deal of information I did not anticipate.
Cousineau is the proprietor of Kikoh but it's clear from the beginning of the book that his love for the subject also ties closely into his spirituality and worldview, as well as his experience as an educator. As a result, The Fragrant Path is not really just a book about Japanese incense, it's a book about incense in the context of history, culture, and Zen Buddhism. It is a book about the way precious woods and other ingredients became part of the leisure activities of the Japanese upper class and how these activities evolved through the years into "one of a kind" events that were designed and led by experts to allow those who attended to not only enjoy fragrance as a pastime but to do so in a deeply reverent and spiritual way. As different eras led to changes in and new perspectives on these events, eventually the interconnected disciplines of incense, tea, literature and flower arrangements opened up to the Japanese mainstream and were even introduced outside of the country. Roughly the first half of the book is a history of Japan that revolves around the use of incense, starting in the summer of CE 595, when possibly the world's most revered piece of agarwood, Ranjatai, washed up on the shores of Japan, all the way through the 20th century where Japanese culture and incense was on its way to being revered in the US and all of the major companies of incense began to import here. The book is also haunted by what many of us know and that's that so many of these rare ingredients have become so scarce in the 21st century that they are often protected by international law and that many of the Japanese incense houses have now deleted some of their most premium incenses. It is a subject that ORS is well aware of simply because we have seen so many previously amazing incenses lose the ingredients (or the quality thereof) that made them so, and have often discussed how to approach this new paradign. Indeed, this book implies suggestions for this in the latter half of the book.
The history of Japan in The Fragrant Path is quite dense and information rich. If you're expecting this book to jump in and catalog and review Japanese incenses right away, you could be disappointed, but if you're looking for the larger context, the birthing ground for why Japanese incense is what it is, this is instantly the primary guide in the English language. I checked in with Michael midway through the history in part because I suspected this was a tricky balancing act that he was well aware of, how the history would breathe in and out from the subject and not go too far afield. What he has done as a result of this research is to actually show how truly important the history of Japan is in terms of its connection to incense, how anything from incense recipes to the grading of jinkoh (agarwood) manifested in the lives of some of the most pivotal figures in Japanese history. If you're an incense nerd like me you might have to choke back some tears, or maybe a flash of jealousy, when a historical figure is awarded a piece of the famous Ranjatai wood. In an era where quality agarwood supplies are both dwindling and getting more and more expensive, one imagines what an utterly profound experience some of these historical woods must have provided. Cousineau explains this wonderfully, it is like the tide reaching out and then rolling back in, centering you on incense and then increasing the radius of everything around it to elucidate on the context in which it happened before rolling back to the small groups of people meeting for once in a lifetime gatherings centered around tea, incense, poetry, flower arrangement and more. It is exquisitely and thoughtfully done, an effort worthy of the story it narrates.
One of the things I came away with from this book was a picture of the deep reverence the Japanese have historically had for their incense ceremonies, how utterly intertwined their games and rituals were with deep Buddhist thought and wisdom. It is not often the American experience of incense and there is some urgency imparted to the reader by Cousineau's guidance in the second half of the book. This starts with the ingredients but then begins to go much more deeply into the concept of "listening" to incense, there are even chapters designed to adjust your perspective to the ritual of burning incense, such as in Chapter 25, Emptiness. The section on expectation, for example, is a sound reminder not to limit your experience of incenses by coming into a session with rigid expectations.
Cousineau manages to convincingly bring forward the treasures at the heart of its ceremonies, something I thought reached a crescendo at the end of the work, when after learning so much, you're given a few basic kumiko (incense games) based on the seasons of the year that show how elegantly all of the things you just learned about fit together. At its most basic, the advice to "listen" is a move towards greater openness and being in the moment that while challenging, seems very genuine and designed to increase one's appreciation of aroma, an invitation made by someone profoundly affected by the art form and wanting to give you the same gift. It can be something we forget in the rush of everyday use, that you are going to get more out of something when it becomes the primary activity of the moment and not just a nice background scent. As mentioned before, I believe this is all really helpful in an era of ingredient changes, it's a reminded to focus less on what we perceive as missing and to openly experience what is already there.
I don't want to give away too much of the book, there are a lot of very cool facts and pieces of information to discover that I'd feel even giving away an anecdote or two would spoil the book a little, but suffice it to say, I learned quite a lot from this guide and my understanding of what I already knew was deepened and contextualized quite substantially. I was also incredibly impressed by some of the poetry that was quoted throughout the book. Also, in the midst of reading the book, I think I was at just over 100 pages, I asked Michael about where the FX series (and James Clavell book) Shogun might have fit into the historical continuum laid out, not only because the book was one of the first things I ever encountered that introduced me to Japanese history and culture, but because just right before I had gotten to the 1600s I was already astonished at how interweaved incense was with so much of what was going around it and the wonderful FX series came to mind right away. Michael's response was utterly fascinating and intriguing in a way that made me felt like he had lived the adventure of writing the book.
I am here at ORS writing all these years later simply because I'm still passionate about incense, so being able to share a book written by someone just as passionate is a real joy. Michael Cousineau has really brought a great deal of Japanese heritage to the table and I think anyone who has come to read ORS' Japanese incense reviews would find this a mandatory purchase. It is incredibly well written and shockingly error and typo free (I think the only thing I noticed and remembered was there was a plumb where a plum should be), certainly more thoroughly gone over than most books I get my hands on in any subject or genre, amazing in itself due to how often it cites Japanese language/transliteration. It is lovingly arranged in a way where you'll likely return to it to reread once it has already sent its tendrils through your very being. While I linked directly to the Amazon page for this book above, I also want to link to the Kikoh page where it gives many more sources on where to purchase as well as a helpful breakdown of the book's contents. Absolutely essential, even if you're a long-time student of Japanese incense there's so much to learn here.
There is truly a scarcity of books on incense in the English language, even more so if you narrow it down to incenses originating from a specific country. The majority of incense books in English are aimed at the Wiccan market, perhaps the most pivotal book on that account was Scott Cunningham's The Complete Book of Incense, Oils and Brews. This was a book I bought fairly early in my incense explorations, and after a few goes with recipes, it led to an impression that I wouldn't be any good at handcrafting incense. I also had Wylundt's Book of Incense which covered similar territory, although with very different recipes, and then there's Carl F. Neal's more modern book on similar territory, Incense: Crafting & Use of Magickal Scents which roughly postdated any interest I had in crafting incense. There also appear to be a few others in the same vein. However, my experiments convinced me to concentrate on other hobbies, long before I realized there was a lot of deep technique and a huge range of quality in any ingredients that meant there would be a lot of learning to achieve even a basic level of competence in blending an incense with a passing grade.
For Japanese incense I had thought there were two existing books written for the English speaking market, one Kiyoko Morita's The Book of Incense: Enjoying the Traditional Art of Japanese Scents, and then David Pybus' Kodo: The Way of Incense, the latter of which I was pretty sure I read once upon a time. For sure the thing I remember the most about the one I read was that it came with incense that I remember being abrasive, and the book itself was quite threadbare and basic. A search on Japanese incense books turns up some other books other than these two but most notably it now turns up this new book by Michael Cousineau, The Fragrant Path: A Guide to the Japanese Art of Incense. While I'm sure there are Japanese books that thoroughly cover the subject of incense, in fact I'd imagine some of these were used in Cousineau's research, The Fragrant Path is unquestionably the deepest and most profound book about the subject in the English language written to date. It both fills a void I knew was there as well revealing a great deal of information I did not anticipate.
Cousineau is the proprietor of Kikoh but it's clear from the beginning of the book that his love for the subject also ties closely into his spirituality and worldview, as well as his experience as an educator. As a result, The Fragrant Path is not really just a book about Japanese incense, it's a book about incense in the context of history, culture, and Zen Buddhism. It is a book about the way precious woods and other ingredients became part of the leisure activities of the Japanese upper class and how these activities evolved through the years into "one of a kind" events that were designed and led by experts to allow those who attended to not only enjoy fragrance as a pastime but to do so in a deeply reverent and spiritual way. As different eras led to changes in and new perspectives on these events, eventually the interconnected disciplines of incense, tea, literature and flower arrangements opened up to the Japanese mainstream and were even introduced outside of the country. Roughly the first half of the book is a history of Japan that revolves around the use of incense, starting in the summer of CE 595, when possibly the world's most revered piece of agarwood, Ranjatai, washed up on the shores of Japan, all the way through the 20th century where Japanese culture and incense was on its way to being revered in the US and all of the major companies of incense began to import here. The book is also haunted by what many of us know and that's that so many of these rare ingredients have become so scarce in the 21st century that they are often protected by international law and that many of the Japanese incense houses have now deleted some of their most premium incenses. It is a subject that ORS is well aware of simply because we have seen so many previously amazing incenses lose the ingredients (or the quality thereof) that made them so, and have often discussed how to approach this new paradign. Indeed, this book implies suggestions for this in the latter half of the book.
The history of Japan in The Fragrant Path is quite dense and information rich. If you're expecting this book to jump in and catalog and review Japanese incenses right away, you could be disappointed, but if you're looking for the larger context, the birthing ground for why Japanese incense is what it is, this is instantly the primary guide in the English language. I checked in with Michael midway through the history in part because I suspected this was a tricky balancing act that he was well aware of, how the history would breathe in and out from the subject and not go too far afield. What he has done as a result of this research is to actually show how truly important the history of Japan is in terms of its connection to incense, how anything from incense recipes to the grading of jinkoh (agarwood) manifested in the lives of some of the most pivotal figures in Japanese history. If you're an incense nerd like me you might have to choke back some tears, or maybe a flash of jealousy, when a historical figure is awarded a piece of the famous Ranjatai wood. In an era where quality agarwood supplies are both dwindling and getting more and more expensive, one imagines what an utterly profound experience some of these historical woods must have provided. Cousineau explains this wonderfully, it is like the tide reaching out and then rolling back in, centering you on incense and then increasing the radius of everything around it to elucidate on the context in which it happened before rolling back to the small groups of people meeting for once in a lifetime gatherings centered around tea, incense, poetry, flower arrangement and more. It is exquisitely and thoughtfully done, an effort worthy of the story it narrates.
One of the things I came away with from this book was a picture of the deep reverence the Japanese have historically had for their incense ceremonies, how utterly intertwined their games and rituals were with deep Buddhist thought and wisdom. It is not often the American experience of incense and there is some urgency imparted to the reader by Cousineau's guidance in the second half of the book. This starts with the ingredients but then begins to go much more deeply into the concept of "listening" to incense, there are even chapters designed to adjust your perspective to the ritual of burning incense, such as in Chapter 25, Emptiness. The section on expectation, for example, is a sound reminder not to limit your experience of incenses by coming into a session with rigid expectations.
Cousineau manages to convincingly bring forward the treasures at the heart of its ceremonies, something I thought reached a crescendo at the end of the work, when after learning so much, you're given a few basic kumiko (incense games) based on the seasons of the year that show how elegantly all of the things you just learned about fit together. At its most basic, the advice to "listen" is a move towards greater openness and being in the moment that while challenging, seems very genuine and designed to increase one's appreciation of aroma, an invitation made by someone profoundly affected by the art form and wanting to give you the same gift. It can be something we forget in the rush of everyday use, that you are going to get more out of something when it becomes the primary activity of the moment and not just a nice background scent. As mentioned before, I believe this is all really helpful in an era of ingredient changes, it's a reminded to focus less on what we perceive as missing and to openly experience what is already there.
I don't want to give away too much of the book, there are a lot of very cool facts and pieces of information to discover that I'd feel even giving away an anecdote or two would spoil the book a little, but suffice it to say, I learned quite a lot from this guide and my understanding of what I already knew was deepened and contextualized quite substantially. I was also incredibly impressed by some of the poetry that was quoted throughout the book. Also, in the midst of reading the book, I think I was at just over 100 pages, I asked Michael about where the FX series (and James Clavell book) Shogun might have fit into the historical continuum laid out, not only because the book was one of the first things I ever encountered that introduced me to Japanese history and culture, but because just right before I had gotten to the 1600s I was already astonished at how interweaved incense was with so much of what was going around it and the wonderful FX series came to mind right away. Michael's response was utterly fascinating and intriguing in a way that made me felt like he had lived the adventure of writing the book.
I am here at ORS writing all these years later simply because I'm still passionate about incense, so being able to share a book written by someone just as passionate is a real joy. Michael Cousineau has really brought a great deal of Japanese heritage to the table and I think anyone who has come to read ORS' Japanese incense reviews would find this a mandatory purchase. It is incredibly well written and shockingly error and typo free (I think the only thing I noticed and remembered was there was a plumb where a plum should be), certainly more thoroughly gone over than most books I get my hands on in any subject or genre, amazing in itself due to how often it cites Japanese language/transliteration. It is lovingly arranged in a way where you'll likely return to it to reread once it has already sent its tendrils through your very being. While I linked directly to the Amazon page for this book above, I also want to link to the Kikoh page where it gives many more sources on where to purchase as well as a helpful breakdown of the book's contents. Absolutely essential, even if you're a long-time student of Japanese incense there's so much to learn here.
March 31, 2025
I was very pleased to see this excellent new book on incense, which is a surprisingly exhaustive dive into Japanese history where it intersects with incense, Buddhist philosophy, a brief encyclopedia of popular Japanese incense ingredients, and a very detailed summary of various kumiko/ incense games of Japanese yore. This is the definitive place to start for English-speaking people curious about the world of Japanese incense who wish to go deeper than the more brochure-like books that were published in the 90's.
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