FAQ
Q: What is the history of Awaji Island incense?
According to the Nihon Shoki, one of the oldest chronicles in Japan, the history of incense on Awaji Island began in 595 AD when a trunk of an aromatic tree drifted to the island. The book states that during the reign of Emperor Suiko, Jimi (which means “sinking wood”) reached the island. It was as big as a man’s arms could hold and the islanders burned it in their kitchen furnace as they didn’t know what it was. When the wood smelled amazing, they donated it to the emperor.
Jimi is a major material for making fragrances and is so called because it sinks in water. The fact that the ancient history book mentions it shows the nation’s strong interest in scent was already there. Prince Shotoku made a Buddha statue out of the wood and worshipped it. Local people on Awaji built the Kareki (dried wood) Shrine to worship a part of the wood.
Q: What is the history of the incense industry on Awaji?
In 1850, Tatsuzo Tanaka, a local resident who lived in the town of Ei, introduced both the techniques of producing incense, as well as skillful workers, to Awaji from Sakai (a city located southwest of Osaka) while he was purchasing cedar leaves (a major ingredient) from Shikoku Island.
Q: What makes Ei/Awaji the No. 1 producer of incense?
Ei was a port town and was really prosperous in the shipping industry at the time, with more than 100 ships regularly visiting the port.
Reasons why incense manufacturing has been here for such a long time include:
-The temperature here is good for drying incense.
-The shipping industry gave it a logistical advantage.
-Ports were often closed because of a strong seasonal wind, leaving people to work at home making incense.
-The labor cost was low because they could hire the wives of sailors and fishermen as well as farmers during their off-seasons.
Q: What is the organizational structure of the Hyogo Incense Incense Coop?
The Hyogo Prefecture Incense Coop started as a private organization in June 1972 with 20 members and restructured into a cooperative to promote unity, collaboration, and economic activities among its members.
Currently, 15 makers belong to the cooperative and produce incense under the brand name “Koh-shi”. The cooperative does not sell incense for use at Buddhist ceremonies because they primarily (and historically) developed their incense for the export market.
Q: How are the Koh-shi incenses designed and produced?
The Koh-shi brand has 5 different series, namely, Master Selection, The Four Seasons, Fragrance of Japan, Sakuya Konohana, and Bushiden, each consisting of 14 different fragrances that the 14 manufacturers produce respectively (5 series x 14 fragrances = 70 items in total).
Our business was designated as a Japanese Brand Promotion Support Business by the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency of Japan in 2005.
We have been working hard to increase our line of products and to expand our business.
Q: How many types of incense are produced in Japan besides Koh-shi?
It is said that there are more than 1,000 products produced in Japan for Buddhist ceremonies. However, we are not certain of the exact number since we only sell Koh-shi incense. We are currently in the process of building a new website which will allow member companies to sell their products, providing customers with a one-stop opportunity to browse not only Koh-shi incense, but also all the other products from the 14 manufacturers. This online shop will be user-friendly and enable users to browse by product type, company, and fragrance. It will be accessible on both PCs and mobile devices, and will be used for marketing and research and development purposes. In addition, it will also offer organic incense certified by Ecocert.
Q: What is the history of Awaji Island incense?
According to the Nihon Shoki, one of the oldest chronicles in Japan, the history of incense on Awaji Island began in 595 AD when a trunk of an aromatic tree drifted to the island. The book states that during the reign of Emperor Suiko, Jimi (which means “sinking wood”) reached the island. It was as big as a man’s arms could hold and the islanders burned it in their kitchen furnace as they didn’t know what it was. When the wood smelled amazing, they donated it to the emperor.
Jimi is a major material for making fragrances and is so called because it sinks in water. The fact that the ancient history book mentions it shows the nation’s strong interest in scent was already there. Prince Shotoku made a Buddha statue out of the wood and worshipped it. Local people on Awaji built the Kareki (dried wood) Shrine to worship a part of the wood.
Q: What is the history of the incense industry on Awaji?
In 1850, Tatsuzo Tanaka, a local resident who lived in the town of Ei, introduced both the techniques of producing incense, as well as skillful workers, to Awaji from Sakai (a city located southwest of Osaka) while he was purchasing cedar leaves (a major ingredient) from Shikoku Island.
Q: What makes Ei/Awaji the No. 1 producer of incense?
Ei was a port town and was really prosperous in the shipping industry at the time, with more than 100 ships regularly visiting the port.
Reasons why incense manufacturing has been here for such a long time include:
-The temperature here is good for drying incense.
-The shipping industry gave it a logistical advantage.
-Ports were often closed because of a strong seasonal wind, leaving people to work at home making incense.
-The labor cost was low because they could hire the wives of sailors and fishermen as well as farmers during their off-seasons.
Q: What is the organizational structure of the Hyogo Incense Incense Coop?
The Hyogo Prefecture Incense Coop started as a private organization in June 1972 with 20 members and restructured into a cooperative to promote unity, collaboration, and economic activities among its members.
Currently, 15 makers belong to the cooperative and produce incense under the brand name “Koh-shi”. The cooperative does not sell incense for use at Buddhist ceremonies because they primarily (and historically) developed their incense for the export market.
Q: How are the Koh-shi incenses designed and produced?
The Koh-shi brand has 5 different series, namely, Master Selection, The Four Seasons, Fragrance of Japan, Sakuya Konohana, and Bushiden, each consisting of 14 different fragrances that the 14 manufacturers produce respectively (5 series x 14 fragrances = 70 items in total).
Our business was designated as a Japanese Brand Promotion Support Business by the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency of Japan in 2005.
We have been working hard to increase our line of products and to expand our business.
Q: How many types of incense are produced in Japan besides Koh-shi?
It is said that there are more than 1,000 products produced in Japan for Buddhist ceremonies. However, we are not certain of the exact number since we only sell Koh-shi incense. We are currently in the process of building a new website which will allow member companies to sell their products, providing customers with a one-stop opportunity to browse not only Koh-shi incense, but also all the other products from the 14 manufacturers. This online shop will be user-friendly and enable users to browse by product type, company, and fragrance. It will be accessible on both PCs and mobile devices, and will be used for marketing and research and development purposes. In addition, it will also offer organic incense certified by Ecocert.Our business was designated as a Japanese Brand Promotion Support Business by the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency of Japan in 2005.
We have been working hard to increase our line of products and to expand our business.
Q: What is the history of Awaji Island incense?
According to the Nihon Shoki, one of the oldest chronicles in Japan, the history of incense on Awaji Island began in 595 AD when a trunk of an aromatic tree drifted to the island. The book states that during the reign of Emperor Suiko, Jimi (which means “sinking wood”) reached the island. It was as big as a man’s arms could hold and the islanders burned it in their kitchen furnace as they didn’t know what it was. When the wood smelled amazing, they donated it to the emperor.
Jimi is a major material for making fragrances and is so called because it sinks in water. The fact that the ancient history book mentions it shows the nation’s strong interest in scent was already there. Prince Shotoku made a Buddha statue out of the wood and worshipped it. Local people on Awaji built the Kareki (dried wood) Shrine to worship a part of the wood.
Q: What is the history of
the incense industry on Awaji?
In 1850, Tatsuzo Tanaka, a local resident who lived in the town of Ei, introduced both the techniques of producing incense, as well as skillful workers, to Awaji from Sakai (a city located southwest of Osaka) while he was purchasing cedar leaves (a major ingredient) from Shikoku Island.
Q: What makes Ei/Awaji
the No. 1 producer of incense?
Ei was a port town and was really prosperous in the shipping industry at the time, with more than 100 ships regularly visiting the port.
Reasons why incense manufacturing has been here for such a long time include:
-The temperature here is good for drying incense.
-The shipping industry gave it a logistical advantage.
-Ports were often closed because of a strong seasonal wind, leaving people to work at home making incense.
-The labor cost was low because they could hire the wives of sailors and fishermen as well as farmers during their off-seasons.
Q: What is the organizational structure of the Hyogo Incense Incense Coop?
The Hyogo Prefecture Incense Coop started as a private organization in June 1972 with 20 members and restructured into a cooperative to promote unity, collaboration, and economic activities among its members.
Currently, 15 makers belong to the cooperative and produce incense under the brand name “Koh-shi”. The cooperative does not sell incense for use at Buddhist ceremonies because they primarily (and historically) developed their incense for the export market.
Q: How are the Koh-shi incenses designed and produced?
The Koh-shi brand has 5 different series, namely, Master Selection, The Four Seasons, Fragrance of Japan, Sakuya Konohana, and Bushiden, each consisting of 14 different fragrances that the 14 manufacturers produce respectively (5 series x 14 fragrances = 70 items in total).
Our business was designated as a Japanese Brand Promotion Support Business by the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency of Japan in 2005.
We have been working hard to increase our line of products and to expand our business.
Q: How many types of incense are produced in Japan besides Koh-shi?
It is said that there are more than 1,000 products produced in Japan for Buddhist ceremonies. However, we are not certain of the exact number since we only sell Koh-shi incense. We are currently in the process of building a new website which will allow member companies to sell their products, providing customers with a one-stop opportunity to browse not only Koh-shi incense, but also all the other products from the 14 manufacturers. This online shop will be user-friendly and enable users to browse by product type, company, and fragrance. It will be accessible on both PCs and mobile devices, and will be used for marketing and research and development purposes. In addition, it will also offer organic incense certified by Ecocert.Our business was designated as a Japanese Brand Promotion Support Business by the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency of Japan in 2005.
We have been working hard to increase our line of products and to expand our business.