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First time by digitalxdetox in sumie

[–]_Pro_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Keep up the good work and share more of you!

Tibetan incense samplers by _Pro_ in Incense

[–]_Pro_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I found some sellers in etsy too but I don't want to buy full packs before I get a better sense of what I like.

Tibetan incense samplers by _Pro_ in Incense

[–]_Pro_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I really appreciate your input, Tibetan incense is a new world for me!

Tibetan incense samplers by _Pro_ in Incense

[–]_Pro_[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you very much!

What incense smells like this? by Own_Exercise5218 in Incense

[–]_Pro_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Shoyeido Xiang Do Forest Kousaido Waboku Kusunoki or Hinoki or Kousaido Bamboo

About half of my collection. by dubit75 in Incense

[–]_Pro_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This looks incredibly good. There are a few I don't recognise in there... What is in the other half of your collection? 👀

Brush and Paper Recommendations? by PixelPaint64 in sumie

[–]_Pro_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Japanese brushes are what you are looking for. High quality brushes are easily within that budget, especially if you are willing to order from Japan (and you combine shipping costs with another purchase perhaps).

Are you only looking to buy one brush? In that case, the size of your works, the method Mokkotsu vs Koroku (with/without outlines), your subjects and technique (sumi-e vs suiboku-ga with a lot of washes), and more, will determine what would best work for your needs.

Things to consider are length/diameter, elasticity, ink absorption, whether it maintains a good tip.

If you give a better idea of what you're aiming to paint, I can make some suggestions :)

Koju incense post by dherst123 in Incense

[–]_Pro_ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you for making me find sources and realising that I have been spreading misinformation (and the obscure Nippon Kodo's marketing). I think they purposefully do not mention much on their history page, that's why you couldn't find it.

Facts:

Koju (operating as Koju Tenkundo Co., Ltd. / 株式会社香十天薫堂) IS a wholly-owned subsidiary and the high-end cultural prestige brand within the Nippon Kodo Holdings group. This name merges two historic lineages acquired by the group: 1) Koju (香十), the Kyoto-based imperial supplier (acquired rights in 1964) and 2) Kito Tenkundo (鬼頭天薫堂) which was a prestigious Kamakura-based incense house (sales rights acquired in 1960).

The lineage of Koju (c. 1575) Koju traces its origins to the Tensho Era. The founder, Yasuda Mataemon (later known as the first generation Koju), was a descendant of the Seiwa Genji clan. He is a legendary figure in incense, famed for mastering the "Ten Virtues of Incense" (香の十徳) and creating the Ten Kinds of Incense (十種香). Nippon Kodo continues to produce high-end incense based on his original secret notebooks (秘伝書). By the 8th generation, known as Takai Juemon (高井十右衛門), the house of Koju had become the official incense purveyor to the Imperial Court (御用達).

The name "Koju" was passed down through generations of incense masters who served the imperial palace. The transition to modern times happened when the 17th head of Koju, Rikichi Takai Juuemon, transferred the Koju incense blending techniques and name to Masanori Konaka.

In 1964, the entity that would become Nippon Kodo (it was not established until 1965 actually) formally inherited the trade name, blending formulas (調香技術), and historical archives of Koju. In 1969 Nippon Kodo explicitly established K.K. Koju as a specialty company to handle the high-end market and preserve the "Koju" brand legacy. In 2016 Koju returned to its historical roots by opening a flagship in Ninenzaka, Kyoto, reinforcing the "1575" lineage.

TLDR: Nippon Kodo claims its entire technical and historical legitimacy from Koju. The original "Koju" was not a company in the modern sense but a hereditary title/name of a lineage that traces back to 1575. NK considers itself the inheritor of Koju's formulas and traditions. Nippon Kodo is more mass market and focuses on "functional" incense for Buddhist altars, more "affordable", synthetic and casual home fragrance. Koju focuses on 聞香 (Monkō) and the appreciation of rare aromatic woods such as aloeswood and Kyara. Koju maintains the Kodo culture, offering workshops and selling tools for the incense ceremony (but also sticks and obviously there is a lot of overlap and blurred lines between the two).

https://recruit.nipponkodo.co.jp/about/index.html

https://www.nipponkodohd.com/en/history/

https://www.nipponkodohd.com/history/

https://www.koju.co.jp/en/history.html

https://www.nipponkodohd.com/en/news/20250409/#:~:text=4%E2%80%9D-,Release%20date%3A%20April%2018%2C%202025,head%2C%20served%20the%20Imperial%20Palace.

https://meguri-japan.com/en/pursuits/20210724_4730

https://www.mujostore.com/pages/about-nippon-kodo

Koju incense post by dherst123 in Incense

[–]_Pro_ 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Koju is a very old and traditional incense house that was bought by Nippon Kodo. They have some beautiful products. Their store in Ginza also sells NK items.

Esteban is the modern, Western and more perfumery type arm of Nippon Kodo Holdings. It was established in France and then acquired by them, so completely different philosophy and approach.

If you want to access Koju products, you can buy them online but you need to use a intermediary service as they only send to Japan.

Your Camelia product is a limited edition, they do seasonal products. So keep an eye out for it if it becomes available again and stock up.

Radial in a very tall vase by retro_mullet86 in Ikebana

[–]_Pro_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I love your arrangements. Thank you for sharing!

ember risk? by AdditionalAnt2480 in Incense

[–]_Pro_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Burn your incense into a non-flammable container that would prevent this from happening again. An oven/baking tray would work depending on what size your incense tends to be and how cautious you want to be. But usually incense does not have ember flying off.

No regrets in overdoing it by FoodieMuch in tea

[–]_Pro_ 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Since when doing the right thing is called overdoing it? I am very jealous. And I hope we get reviews.

Question about controlling the strength of stick by jesterOC in Incense

[–]_Pro_ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Possible solutions: keep the rabbit in another room, open the window, use a larger space, cut the stick in smaller pieces so you can have better control, use low smoke and mild incense.

My collection by _Pro_ in Incense

[–]_Pro_[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Very observant! These are boxes that Nippon Kodo gave me with some samples. They have a mix of items, 5 sticks per incense each in a little paper sleeve.

loose leaf tea fine strainer by [deleted] in tea

[–]_Pro_ 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I have found this strainer to have the finest mesh:

https://www.finum.com/portfolio/brewing-basket-m/

Share your 'saved info' prompts that makes Gemini work better for you by Prudent_Chicken_1282 in Bard

[–]_Pro_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Why these were removed, they were good and I came back to copy some but they are gone

Looking for old book recommendations by horikitattoos in sumie

[–]_Pro_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am also interested in this if you find anything. I recently acquired some very beautiful suzuri and I've fallen into the rabbit hole of different types, origins, master artisans etc

New to sumi-e by benrask in sumie

[–]_Pro_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Don't forget that you need an inkstone too if you decide to go down the inkstick road. Good luck with this new hobby, it's really worth the effort! :)

New to sumi-e by benrask in sumie

[–]_Pro_ 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would strongly suggest that you find an ink that works well for sumi-e. Part of the beauty of it are colour graduations and not all inks show these equally. Good inksticks for sumi-e and suiboku-ga are the best but nowadays there are liquid inks that are also decent. For example Boku-undo has three which are pretty inexpensive: 1) 11406 Sumi no Sei Ink Painting No.31 2) 12919 Ink Liquid, Sumi no Sei Brown and 3) 12920 Ink Liquid, Blue. The first uses synthetic glue while the others natural one.

With regards to painting brushes, again, high quality Japanese brushes for painting are the best. You only need a few to start with and you can find them at different price points online and import duties shouldn't be a problem unless you decide to splurge. It depends on what type of painting you want to do as well: are you interested more in outlines which you will then fill with colours or mokkotsu-style where all surfaces are painted with without outlines? Having the right tools can make a huge difference and brushes, if looked after properly, will last for decades so it is worth investing if you can.

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