Since 6th centuries, incense has had important part in Japan.
It’s used at funerals, temples and home shines (butsudan) to purify spirits.
 Home Shrine (butsudan). "duck75" some rights reserved. flickr |
 Incense at a Temple. "adachikakoujyo" some rights reserved. flickr |
In the Heian Period (794-1185), the nobles in thick layered kimono used incense to deodorize their body odors.
They also used incense as fragrances and aromatics.
The scent of incense is relaxing and soothing but some people use it everyday for their home shrines and the smell gets stronger in the houses; therefore, unscented and less smoke incense are sold too.
Besides using it for religious customs or aromatics, it’s commonly used as mosquito repellent called “katori-senko”, which is coil shaped and has some ingredients to repel mosquitos.
It’s often set in a ceramic pig.
 Ceramic Pig for Mosquito Repellent. "chez_sugi" some rights reserved. flickr |
 Mosquito Repellent. "CanadaPenguin" some rights reserved. flickr |
This is JAPAN Style!
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