December 05, 2024

Listening to Tennendo Khorokan

During the Asuka Period (538 - 710), incense arrived in Japan largely through the adoption of Buddhism by the Japanese ruling class. Imported from Tang Dynasty China, rare fragrant woods like Sandalwood from India entered into Japanese life through the Buddhist ceremonies imported from the continent. Guest houses for foreign emissaries, known as kōrokan (鴻臚館), where constructed in Tsukushi, Fukuoka, Osaka, and Kyoto to house foreign ambassadors, monks, and merchants  where trade negotiations were conducted. Documented in the Nihon Shoki (日本書紀, Chronicles of Japan) as early as 688, the kōrokan at Tsukushi was used continuously for over 360 years as a port of entry for Chinese and Korean envoys, serving as a center of foreign diplomacy through which fragrant woods and Chinese culture entered Japan until its loss to fire in 1047. In Khorokan, Tennendo draws upon the history of the kōrokan guest house, highlighting the uniquely imported fragrance of the finest Indian Sandalwood.

Tennendo describes Khorokan as "Sandalwood incense made from the finest Mysore sandalwood powder in India" with nothing more than tabu-no-ki (椨の木), the fragrance-less bark of the Japanese Bay tree as a binder. In elegant tone-on-tone illustration, the package features a reconstructed image of the kōrokan (鴻臚館) guesthouse built in Dazaifu, Kyushu that welcomed envoys from overseas. An allnatural sandalwood incense, Khorokan has been popular in Japan since its introduction decades ago.

Unlit, Khorokan's light warm tan stick has a clean, lightly sweet fragrance with a hint of resinous sharpness. An elegant green woody perfume note dances subtly just within awareness, adding a lovely softness to Khorokan's light airiness. There is no doubt this is a sandalwood stick, with its lovely woody qualities lightly on display.

Alight, Khorokan begins with a lovely woody sweetness that has a near spicy quality akin to cinnamon, but much woodier in presentation. A more sharp resinous quality then builds, highlighting the beauty of the Mysore Sandalwood at the stick's core. Although the resinous note of sandalwood is dominant, the soft spicy sweetness of the initial lighting continues to dance above, playfully coming and going, adding a light sweet respite from the sharpness of the resin.

As the burn continues, the two note begin to meld, joining in a lovely chord that creates a relaxing ease, filling the space with a soft redolence that is imbued with a rich sandalwood tone.There is a depth that is created, that increasingly becomes more silky, smooth, and luxurious. From a distance, Kohrokan provides a lovely softness filled with a light sweetness that drifts from the space in which it is burned. This is a welcoming fragrance, as at home today greeting family and guests as it must have been 1000 years ago in the kōrokan that welcomed foreign emissaries to Japan.

There is also an exotic quality about Khorokan that brings to mind the atmosphere that must have existed at the kōrokan guest houses filled with foreigners, luxuries, and strange customs from the far away continent. Expressed in the green woody note of the unlit stick, this again resurfaces ever so subtly, giving a freshness that is exciting to the resinous sandalwood note. Radiating from the calm peacefulness of Khorokan's fragrance there is also a controlled excitement, giving a feeling of optimism and promise, like that of a diplomat in their element. Refined, elegant, and dignified, Khorokan's fragrance fills the space with a feeling of promise and a sense of ease.

Khorokan's after-note softens that found in the burn significantly, leaving a light sweet peaceful redolence after it has been consumed. Compared to the burn, Khorokan's after-note is more silky, creamy, warm, and sweet, yet lighter and more ethereal. Excellent and long lasting, Khorokan's after-note is a highlight, creating a welcoming space to return to long after the stick has been consumed.

A rich, elegant, and relaxing all natural sandalwood, Tennendo Khorokan carries the tradition of the Japanese guest house of 1000 years ago into today's world.

A gull drifts overhead
far inland amid the pines
a traveler, far from the sea.

Tennendo Khorokan is available in the following sizes:
40-stick NEI Pack
400-stick Large Box


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