The Kyarazen “Subitism” burner/heater was conceptualized over a year ago, amidst the woes of having to procure and light high quality charcoal, preparing proper kodo-cups, enjoying a few short moments of fragrant wood slivers before the coal became ... [Read More...]
Japanese Incense types
Japanese Incense types can be classified into two main categories, 熏香 (heating incense), or 焚香 (burning incense). A smaller third category exists, where incense or fragrant materials are not heated nor burnt at all, with the fragrance appreciated in ... [Read More...]
Is there any difference between Kyara and Kinam?
Traditionally, the word 玉 or Jade refers to two types of beautiful stone materials, either the Chinese historical Nephrite (calcium magnesium sillicates), known for its creamy, smooth and elegant texture, or the Burmese Jadeite (sodium aluminum ... [Read More...]
Enjoying Kyara through Mon-Koh
Mon-Koh is loosely translated as “listening to incense” from the Japanese language. Kyara is best enjoyed using Japanese “mon-koh” methods, where a red hot coal is buried under ash in a ceramic cup, with a small ventilation hole prodded to provide ... [Read More...]
Experience Green-oil Kyara!
*Edit - Out of Stock!! Ever wondered how that elusive USD $500/gram green oil kyara smells like? One could spend years reading about kyara, thousands of words describing what it smells like, what its properties are like.. but all it takes is just ... [Read More...]
The Ancient Chinese Classifications of Aloeswood
Dating back to the Western Jin dynasty, and re-published in Song Dynasty and Ming dynasty records before it faded away, the ancient Chinese appeared to classify aloeswood by the following terms 蜜香, 沉香, 鸡骨香, 黄熟香, 栈香, 青桂香, 马蹄香, ... [Read More...]
What is Kyara or Kynam?
Kyara/Kynam/Kinam is a tiny subset within aloeswoods in a very very small percentage. In a historical context, it refers to a special type/grade of aloeswood with unique and excellent fragrance properties. The Chinese have a saying that one needs an ... [Read More...]
Ranjatai – The Most Famous piece of Aloeswood
A large piece of fragrant wood drifting ashore onto Awaji Island in the 6th Century, and presented to the Empress Suiko was recorded in the Nihon Shoji. The ability of Prince Shotuku to identify this fragrant wood as aloeswood or Jin-Koh, suggests ... [Read More...]