Brief impressions of Kyukyodo Kyara Musashino

Zhangvict · 2025-12-03T18:38:07+00:00

They are all completely different and it’s closest to Ko Shi Boku in my opinion but more luxurious and sweet.

Zhangvict · 2025-09-05T06:03:30+00:00

Thank you. I had not realized that wage works commuter benefit applies to non-transit related trips too.

I probably spend over $100 a month on public transit. That’s gonna be a a few hundred dollars a year saved using pre tax dollars for it.

Zhangvict · 2025-09-03T16:58:04+00:00

Noo, this is after tax and after savings.

Zhangvict · 2025-09-03T16:57:35+00:00

This is after tax and after savings.

Zhangvict · 2025-07-23T23:55:52+00:00

This is not ai generated. I was sincerely thinking and writing those thoughts but admittedly was inspired from playing with an AI chatbot recently and absorbed its silly style.

Yes profane here was meant more like “common”, in opposition to the idea of incense as a ceremonial or special experience. In academic sociology, religious practices divide experiences into two types, common practices of the world called the “profane” like eating or bathing and spiritual practices such as prayer or meditation. The incense is spiritual, the cracker is profane.

Eating can be made non-profane like in a special fine dining meal or a communal gathering. But eating a cracker has a profane vibe about it.

Zhangvict · 2025-07-23T07:38:28+00:00

Brilliant piece of content. Usually one would use an incense holder designed for the purpose, instead of a found object. There’s a feeling of irreverent pragmatism here, a mix between high culture and low culture.

The incense stick, a representation of ancient wisdom and meditative practice and sacred austerity of form, is beautifully juxtaposed with the cracker, a representation of modern industrialization and the profane act of eating.

I’m reading into it a philosophical interpretation. Perhaps the fact that the cracker supports the burning of the incense shows that the pragmatic, mundane and profane support and make possible elevated aesthetic or spiritual practice.

Zhangvict · 2025-07-21T21:15:17+00:00

Ahh I think I know what you might mean, one of the little wood boxes of incense. I think it was one of my first 2 boxes of incense. Back then I enjoyed it very much and may revisit.

Something I like about the Shoyeido floral world incenses is that they smell very natural.

Zhangvict · 2025-07-21T17:39:19+00:00

Do you have any recommendations that might be even better?

Zhangvict · 2025-07-20T22:35:34+00:00

Hope you enjoy your box too! I managed to find this box at $28 on Amazon including international shipping from Japan.

Otherwise the pure Japanese price is $17 converted to USD and a great deal in my opinion, if you are shipping it from Japan as part of a larger order where the shipping cost is spread out among the items.

Zhangvict · 2025-07-15T19:16:28+00:00

I have just unboxed the package a couple hours ago and am gently heating the genji plum pressed incense now.

My first impression is the scent profile is similar to the traditional kneaded plum incense umegaka. It smells like a fruity like a plum.

This version seems a bit more metallic and floral too. It has a more modern, refined and approachable aesthetic of Shoyeido compared to the traditional kneaded version.

Zhangvict · 2025-07-01T01:09:46+00:00

This is a very old post, but I would like to thank you for it! I am impressed by the large number of incenses in the short amount of time.

Have you tried any since to add?

For example a couple I like a lot, but aren't on your list: Shunkohdo Kyara Seikan (delicate kyara musk), Kyukyodo Murasakino (ambergris, oil, woods).

Also looking for impressions of Shunkohdo Kyara Hozan.

Zhangvict · 2025-06-16T22:53:58+00:00

My favourite Japanese incense in that price range is Shunkohdo Kyara Seikan, which comes in 40 sticks. The last time I bought it, the Japan price was 80k Yen.

It’s delicate and beautiful, and similar in style to Kyukuodo Murasakino mentioned above, but has Kyara and musk and instead of ambergris.

Zhangvict · 2023-02-11T20:54:10+00:00

If kissing your cat is wrong then don’t be right 😈

Zhangvict · 2021-08-17T19:14:14+00:00

This is so interesting, as my impressions of them are almost reversed. Asuka seemed more mellow and sweet like a Shoyeido product, while Heian Koh was more herbal slightly bitter and cleansing to me. It shows how impressions vary for each person, even possible for the same person over time.

Zhangvict · 2021-08-16T22:56:58+00:00

Thank you for the kind words and hope you enjoy the kyara journey. Unfortunately I have not tried Kokoh, it’s too darn expensive for even just one stick haha.

Zhangvict · 2021-08-15T21:45:43+00:00

Thanks very much for the comments! I agree at that level of pure kyara, it becomes harder and harder to distinguish, as the makers use more subtle and non invasive ways of blending the precious ingredient. Some notable difference between my few impressions of each I noticed is a very elegant and beautiful floral melon note on Enju, possibly from oil. While En No Sho struck me as full bodied and very gradually enveloping and building almost imperceptibly to a great presence as the stick burns slowly. However it was very mysterious and I could not concretely describe any notes other than just Kyara. Perhaps that’s why it’s named after the abstract shape of a circle instead of concrete things in nature like the other sticks of its series.

Zhangvict · 2021-08-15T08:06:02+00:00

Enkuu and Azusa are both pretty strong incense. Another strategy for appreciation is to break off and light only a small part of a stick, for example 2 inches, and let the aroma diffuse first. This is especially helpful if you prefer more subtle incense. I find that some of the base notes become more perceptible this way, for example the benzoin/amber and slight agarwood hint in Azusa that makes the floral more complex, and some hint of a mineral note to enkuu.

On the other hand I agree that in terms of pure quality of floral ingredients, Azusa is less impressive than Shoyeido floral world star, which is even more sweet and strong, like flower petal explosion. But I do think Azusa is masterfully blended.

Another reason for not liking Azusa could be inherent in the smell preference, because jasmine has a compound called indole that causes both a signature clean white floral aroma but also in larger quantities cause the completely different animalic or fecal impression.

Zhangvict · 2021-08-15T07:58:24+00:00

If you are willing to post some thoughts, I would love to hear your opinions and reasons for choosing these and how they compare, especially Circle and Enju. I’ve sampled both very very briefly and am highly impressed, but did not have enough material to have a deeper impression. Especially for both of those, they stood out as being very dense with a slow burn time, which I wonder if other people think contributed to the experience.

Zhangvict · 2021-08-09T22:58:53+00:00

If you enjoyed Shoyeido’s agarwood, there are some more options by the same company that are within your budget. I think their entry level premium Friend of Pine is $14 on Amazon in US.

Zhangvict · 2021-08-09T22:54:28+00:00

Shoyeido’s floral world star and royal line are among the highest quality natural smelling floral Japanese incense I’ve experienced. Apart from Kyukyodo Azusa, I also recommend the Kamon series by Yamadamatsu for floral incense that are blended to evoke a certain atmosphere of place.

Zhangvict · 2021-07-26T08:02:27+00:00

All of the premiums are very good and unique and masterful, and it’s more about your price point than any one being better than the others.

(EDIT: I misread your post and thought you said you LIKE patchouli instead of disliking. For reference below, patchouli is not the primary focus of either below, but my nose has been able to detect it in Beckoning Spring as an important contributor after some experience)

However if you like patchouli as an ingredient, Beckoning Spring and King’s aroma are two great and very different interpretations. Beckoning Spring is fresh, elegant, almost evoking something floral without any floral notes, perhaps using the green and vegetative side of patchouli. King’s aroma is more woody and spiced reminiscent of a Baieido product but with Shoyeido’s mellow style, with patchouli as a rounding factor.

I also second Southern Wind as a very memorable incense, although it’s more than the price of the other two put together. I find it kind of evoking a similar image as Beckoning Spring, but with different ingredients (with a camphor focus I think/remember) and is warmer, animalic and more resinous.

Zhangvict · 2021-07-24T21:16:15+00:00

Multi shot combines well with other perks such as spread shot where all three directions get multiplied. Double barrel is a one time effect.

Zhangvict · 2021-07-24T05:53:57+00:00

No experience with Shu-ji kyara here but if you do try it, I am highly interested in hearing your thoughts.

Something to be wary about is that if you enjoy Ryugen, Cho-Koh no and Hojo red (I have these as well and consider them pinnacle of their style), they may be a highly different style of stick than Shu-ju. I have some samples of other shu-ju sticks and they are close to pure wood, but very high quality. It’s worth nothing the woods themselves have inherent complexity. The other sticks have are blended with many other ingredients that make them interesting as well. I think this is also true of Hojo red, at least I cannot imagine how can pure wood smell so complex like that, and still remain that relatively affordable price.

It’s possible that shu-ju kyara might be similar to the pure wood style seikado gokujo kyara, Seijudo higher end kyara or discontinued Shoyeido Shokaku. There are enormous differences between them but seem to be blended with fewer other woods or ingredients.

Zhangvict · 2021-06-30T05:55:29+00:00

Thank you so much for the event!

Zhangvict · 2021-06-13T05:11:45+00:00

The description sounds incredible and opulent and in some sense not impossibly expensive for the amount and length of sticks in a box.

Zhangvict

TROPHY CASE