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.

Filled with practical suggestions, useful practices, and in-depth discussions of the ritual appreciation of Kōdō (the incense ceremony) and kumikō (incense games), The Fragrant Path weaves in meticulous detail the story of the 1,400 years of refinement that have shaped the Japanese art of incense. Presented within an epic storytelling, The Fragrant Path provides a comprehensive view into this extraordinary Japanese art form in the first in-depth English-language book on Japanese incense in nearly three decades.

Like the other refined arts of Japan, the art of incense can be studied for a lifetime. It is said that to lose yourself in incense is to find your true nature. Whether you’ve just lit your first stick of incense or burned ten thousand, The Fragrant Path offers a rare, comprehensive look into the Japanese art of incense.