薫明堂 Kunmeido Incense - Since c.1615

Located in Sakai, the birthplace of stick incense in Japan, Kunmeido traces its founding to the Bunka 文化 era (1804 - 1818). With great pride in the fruits of centuries of effort, Kunmeido continues the family’s secret methods of creating fragrance refined through continuous improvement of traditional techniques.

Kunmeido is most famous for their Reiryokoh 零陵香 line of incense which is used with morning and evening work at Daihonzan Eiheiji 永平寺. Meaning “The Temple of Eternal Peace," Eiheiji is one of Soto Zen's two main temples in Japan and was founded by Zen Master Dōgen in 1244. Surrounded by towering ancient cedars, today Eiheiji still has over one hundred monks who devote themselves wholeheartedly to the practice of shikantaza ("single-minded sitting").

Baieido dates back to the Muromachi period (1338-1573) in Japanese history. During this period, the founder of Baieido, Kakuuemon Yamatoya, became a wholesaler of medicinal herbs in Sakai city. Sakai was a well-known trading port in ancient Japan in which incense trading was in high demand. In 1657, the founder named himself "Jinkoya Sakubei" and specialized in selling incense ingredients and incense sticks. "Jinkoya" (Aloes wood trader) was a name peculiar to Sakai, only medicinal wholesalers who specialized in incense were authorized to use this name.