Nippon Kodo

 

The Japanese incense company Nippon Kodo claims an incense making lineage back to 1575. That claim needs to be considered carefully, as the Nippon Kodo company was established rather more recently - in 1965. The connection to the 1575 date appears to come via the Kojo company, which is now owned by Nippon Kodo. The Kojo company traces its history back to an incense maker, Juuemon Koju, who opened a store (presumably in 1575 - this source says "late 16th century) called Ginza Koju.  

Nippon Kodo's best known product is the famous MainichiKoh. Though it was not developed by Nippon Kodo. It was developed by Kito Tenkundo in 1909. Kito Tenkundo is another Japanese incense company that was later acquired by Nippon Kodo. It appears that Nippon Kodo is the Japanese incense equivalent of British brewery Greene King (nicknamed Greedy King) which has a reputation for buying up smaller breweries, taking their popular brands, and then closing them down; or the huge international brewery company AB InBev, which has done the same thing, but on a larger scale. Anyway. A Japanese incense company Kokando, founded in Osaka in 1883, opened a Tokyo branch in 1944. The Tokyo branch bought the rights to Mainichikoh from Kito Tenkundo shortly after the end of the Pacific War in 1945. It was the Toyko branch of Kokando which split away from the main company and formed Nippon Kodo in 1965, based on the financial power acquired by the purchase of Mainichikoh. 

Reviews

Nippon Kodo MainichiKoh (D)
Apr 2025 - Score: 34↓=↑↑ 

Nippon Kodo Morning Star Cedarwood (D)
Feb 2023 -Score: 28↑↓  

Nippon Kodo Morning Star Myrrh (D)
Feb 2023 - Score: 28=

Nippon Kodo Morning Star Mimosa (D)
Feb 2023 - Score: 28↓

Nippon Kodo Naturense Calm Night (D)
Oct 2024 - Score: 20

Reviews: 5

Top score: 34

Bottom score: 20

Average: 28

Conclusion: Modestly likeable, but not an incense company that gets me excited. And I don't like when a company makes inappropriate claims. This company was founded in 1965, and perhaps can claim 1944 or 1883, but claiming 1575 because they bought the ailing Kojo company is misleading. 

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Japanese incense

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