Nerikoh Incense - Fuyibokama

1.000 years ago, the Japanese people used to prepare healing pills made of wood, herbs and spices kneaded with honey and fruits. This very special art that was mentioned in the « Story of Genji », has passed through centuries and is now best known as neri-koh.

All the ingredients which are carefully selected are grinded manually to preserve their perfume; then they are kneaded with honey and plum pulp to get the right humidity rate; the mix is sealed in a jar which is buried in a wet place where it ages naturally; it works like a charm and after a minimum of three years, the mix is used to make the small neri-koh balls.
The scent of neri-koh depends on many different circumstances: the season, whether the aromatic wood was kept in a sunny place or not, the humidity rate in the air when the mix was prepared… The number of parameters is such that each single ball gives off a unique fragrance.

How to use it: you can proceed the same way as incense ceremony by heating the ball on a mika crystal placed over a Japanese charcoal. You can also simply place it close to a burning coal and let the healing scent fill the air around you. Don’t light the neri-koh ball directly.

In Japan, neri-koh balls are used during tea ceremonies from November until spring. The specific recipes and making processes of this thousand-year art are still today kept in the utmost secrecy.