Hi it's Shohei.
It took more than a year to make it happen, but KUON's original incense is finally ready for release. The incense to be released this time has been created by TOKYO KODO, a company that proposes a new type of fragrance by fusing Japanese and Western traditional techniques.
There are some photos and a video as usual, and they have been taken in and around their atelier.
About TOKYO KODO
These photos are from the scenes of production process.
First of all, I would like to introduce TOKYO KODO briefly.
Born as the third generation of a family business specializing in incense sticks for temples established in 1935, PEREZ Chikako studied Perfumery in Grasse, south France, the capital of perfumery, before establishing TOKYO KODO with PEREZ Geoffrey.
The uniqueness of TOKYO KODO is that they do everything from perfuming to production in their atelier. According to Chikako, incense has two processes: the preparation of the essence (fragrance) and the preparation of the powder (kneading), which are often physically contradictory.
In order to avoid such errors, they have an integrated production system in their atelier. Also, based on the idea that "fragrance is invisible art," they use natural materials as much as possible, and check how the fragrance spreads in the space, how the smoke comes out, and how the fragrance appears from the beginning to the end of the burning process in a separate building of their atelier.
I feel some similarities between the production processes of them and KUON.
Incense sticks of KUON
KUON Incense Sticks (10 pcs)
Price: ￥3,300 (tax included)
For this KUON original incense sticks, we asked Chikako to produce a refreshing scent that matches KUON. Chikako visited KUON Flagship Store to get a better inspiration of the scent.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, it took more than a year to release this incense sticks since the planning. The reason it took so long is because TOKYO KODO carefully selects and procures raw materials from all over the world, based on the concept, and prepares the fragrance. The result is an uncompromising "refreshing fragrance". When you light it and start to burn it, it smells like common incense, but gradually you will enjoy the refreshing and pleasant scent.
Thank you.
