Your Cart is Empty
One of the more common experiences with Japanese incense is how it quickly grows into a collection. As Japanese incense is filled with rare and natural ingredients prized for their specific fragrances, the question of how to store a collection to best preserve its fragrant qualities comes into play. Some people go to great lengths and even greater expense to create the “perfect” incense storage system. But such lengths are not necessary if some basic understanding about storing Japanese incense is put into practice. Below are three simple storage practices that will ensure a long life for any collection of Japanese incense.
Keep the original packaging. Keeping Japanese incense in the packaging it came in provides the most favorable conditions for preventing incense breakage, unwanted light exposure, and excess humidity. Plus, the beauty of the various packaging will add elegance to the collection, and any kiri wood packaging will naturally guard against moisture and humidity.
Store it someplace cool, dry, and dark. Storing Japanese incense in a cool, dry, dark place will help ensure it maintains its aromatic qualities for as long as possible. If money is not an object, a kiri wood tansu (箪笥, chest of drawers) may be purchased for this use. But for most people, the easiest and most cost-effective place to store incense is in a typical dresser drawer kept in an air-conditioned space. If air conditioning is not available, opt for a drawer at ground level in a space that has good air movement, but preferably not in a basement, where humidity levels are much higher.
Store like with like. When storing Japanese incense, it pays to be mindful of potential environmental odors as well as cross contamination between fragrances. Incense should not be stored in areas where strong odors are created, such as a kitchen or in a chest/box/closet lined with strong scented woods like cedar. Similar incenses should be stored together: daily incense with daily incense, floral incense with floral incense, jinkō with jinkō, and so on. Again, if money is not an object, a multi-drawered kiri wood tansu is a luxury item that will fit this task nicely. However, the easiest and most cost-effective method for storing Japanese incense is in a typical chest of drawers, using separate drawers for each group of fragrances.
****
Learn more about storing Japanese incense in the book: The Fragrant Path: A Guide to the Japanese Art of Incense. Filled with practical suggestions, useful tips, and an exploration of the history, selection, use, and appreciation of this uniquely Japanese art form, The Fragrant Path offers a rare, comprehensive look into the Japanese art of incense in the first in-depth English-language book on the subject in nearly three decades.
