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As Halloween approaches, this month we're listening to incense designed to invoke the benevolence of a yokai, the supernatural Japanese spirits both fearsome and auspicious. Known as "Amabie," a legendary Japanese mermaid with a bird like beak and three tail fins, this watery yokai is said to have first appeared in Higo no Kunikai in 1846. Emerging from the sea radiating a shining bright greenish light, Amabie is said to have prophesied an abundant harvest for six years followed by a terrible epidemic. But with all things yokai, there was a supernatural solution. To ward off illness, Amabie instructed that people should draw her image and share it with as many people as possible, thereby invoking her protection. Images of the mythical mermaid continue to be sold as talismans of good fortune today, seeing a marked resurgence during the global pandemic of 2020. Okuno Seimeido's Kigan Senko (prayer incense) series is intended as fragrant prayers for good fortune by invoking Amabie, her image featured prominently on all the boxes of the series.
Highlighting Frankincense as its main ingredient, Byōma Tai Senkoh (“disease repelling incense”) blends traditional aromatic ingredients, sandalwood, and Frankincense to create a deeply harmonized fragrance. In keeping with yokai legend, Byōma Tai features Amabie's image on the box to appeal to the supernatural as well as its key ingredient Frankincense, which has been shown to have excellent antibacterial and preservative properties as well as anti-aging and antioxidant properties, to appeal to the modern world in which we live, as it is said that merchants who dealt in the Frankincense trade did not contract infectious diseases. Combining both yokai legend and proven benefits of its featured ingredient, Byōma Tai seeks to ensure Amabie hears the prayers captured in its woody sweet smoke.
Unlit Byōma Tai's light tan stick is lightly sweet with hints of fruity citrus and a soft cool sweetness. The stick is soft and subtle, but the fragrance has a sharpness to it with a interesting blend of acidic sweetness. Byōma Tai feels alive, potent, and surprisingly rich, mixing a fruity sweetness with a woody quality.
Once lit, the sharpness seen in the unlit stick moderates, as the burn begins with a warm cinnamon-like toasted sweetness tempering the fruity sharpness seen prior to lighting. As the stick warms, a low woody smooth note of sandalwood fills in the gaps between this toasted warmth, adding a depth that is enjoyable and comforting. With further warming, the fruity sweetness of the stick returns, only now more woody and well rounded.
As the various notes mature and blend, Byōma Tai produces a lovely woody Frankincense note that is creamy and lightly sweet, with hints of floral and citrus. Working together, each ingredient balances the others into a unified fragrance where notes blend together as one. The result is a full bodied Frankincense that is soft, approachable, and exquisitely blended sure to appeal to both yokai and mere mortal listeners alike.
As the burn progresses, the fragrance shifts, the notes becoming unified into a lightly floral perfume as the wisps of smoke dance toward the heavens. Calming, the fragrance provides a moment of peace and tranquility, allowing the listener to relax, their stresses melting away within Byōma Tai's redolence. Perhaps it is the Frankincense, or perhaps benevolence of Amabie, or a combination of both, but no matter which, the overriding feeling is one of calm and serenity.
Once consumed, Byōma Tai's after note is cool, light, and sweet. The woodiness seen in the burn becomes more pronounced as does the fruity citrus overtones, only now muted and lighter. Every so often a hint of toasted cinamon resurfaces as was seen early in the burn, however now more like cookies that have cooled rather than fresh from the oven. Yet the primary feature of Byōma Tai's after note is the woody slightly fruity Frankincense note, now lighter and more ethereal.
While many yokai are fearsome and terrifying, the legend of a shining green mere-creature prophesying the future speaks to the benevolence yokai like Amabie represent. By combining a deeply harmonized fragrance that balances the refreshing acidity of frankincense with the moderate sweetness of sandalwood, Okuno Seimeido's Byōma Tai is sure to appeal to both the supernatural world of the yokai and those of us seeking a stress free moment in this world.
Leaves burst into color
Reds, yellows, and oranges,
Shining like a lancet window in the sun.
