When I bought some trial packs of Japanese incense off eBay, I was also sent a bundle of "free gifts". This is one such from the bundle, which is listed as Koukando Shin Sentoshika, though is more commonly named as Koukando Shin Sennenko. The "Shin" part indicating that this is a "smokeless" variation - by which I assume the incense house is using charcoal powder rather than wood powder (which suits me, as I find charcoal to have a lesser distracting scent profile than wood). There is some smoke, which for me is a positive. Smoke for me is an attractive, indeed almost essential, aspect of burning incense. But the smoke does signal impurities, so I understand that smokeless incense is an attraction for most. What I have learned, is that if you burn the incense at a little distance from yourself, the fragrance will drift across, while the heavier combustible components will not.
Koukando introduced this incense in 1904, and though a little old fashioned and simplistic it is still popular in Japan. Or maybe it is attractive in Japan because it is old fashioned and simplistic. Traditions are strong in Japan, and simple scents are often loved by the majority of most cultures. Most sources describe the scent as clove. Once that thought is there, I can see it. But it's not clear. The scent for me is rather muddled and muddy, and mingled with burning herbs and scorched wood and a vague hint of curry spices. It is a light and discreet fragrance - which is not my style, though I have learned to acquire the patience to let the discreet fragrances of Japanese and Chinese incense come to me. But it is not my natural state - I prefer bolder fragrances, or at least fragrances which don't require so much patience and effort in order to enjoy. I am continuing to explore these Asian incenses with an open and patient mind, and in general I am understanding why people like them. But my preference is for the Indian and South American styles of incense, and especially for modern incenses constructed by someone with a good nose for building a fragrance accord.
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Koukando introduced this incense in 1904, and though a little old fashioned and simplistic it is still popular in Japan. Or maybe it is attractive in Japan because it is old fashioned and simplistic. Traditions are strong in Japan, and simple scents are often loved by the majority of most cultures. Most sources describe the scent as clove. Once that thought is there, I can see it. But it's not clear. The scent for me is rather muddled and muddy, and mingled with burning herbs and scorched wood and a vague hint of curry spices. It is a light and discreet fragrance - which is not my style, though I have learned to acquire the patience to let the discreet fragrances of Japanese and Chinese incense come to me. But it is not my natural state - I prefer bolder fragrances, or at least fragrances which don't require so much patience and effort in order to enjoy. I am continuing to explore these Asian incenses with an open and patient mind, and in general I am understanding why people like them. But my preference is for the Indian and South American styles of incense, and especially for modern incenses constructed by someone with a good nose for building a fragrance accord.
Date: May 2025 Score: 22
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You need a pack of Pakeezah after this to wake up! :)
ReplyDeleteI don't think I know any Pakeezah. I assume you mean incense rather than the famous Bollywood film?
DeleteI just saw yesterday someone selling Pakeezah/Pakiza incense on eBay. I was burning one yesterday, what a pungent anda powerful bouquet. I don't know if people in the west like it or hate it, I think Paul was selling Pakeezah incense as well. It is definitely unique but as with Sai Flora, people will be totally divided about it. I was told in India that it was created by Muslim perfumers.
ReplyDeleteThat Pakeezah sounds like my sort of thing.
DeleteI've seen incense labelled as Happy Hari for sale on eBay, and Pakeezah is one of those. I know Cory was concerned about someone selling Happy Hari labelled stuff on eBay, and wanted me to try some to check it out. But at that point I was getting tired of the commercial games around Happy Hari.
Paul used a number of suppliers, and didn't even know himself who all of them were because he was getting a lot of his stuff from Shekhar in Goa. The quality of Paul's stuff was variable. Sometimes it was hand-rolled, sometimes it was machine-extruded. Sometimes it was masala. And sometimes it was perfume-dipped. Some of it was awesome. Some of it was ordinary. And some of it wasn't so good. It was random. Walk into an Indian incense shop, grab a bunch of stuff at random off the shelf, and there you have Paul's Happy Hari brand. Chances are if you like Indian incense you're going to like most of it. Same as your brand, same as ToI, same as the stuff sold in Padma Store or Everest Trader.
Myths have grown up around Happy Hari. But that's the nature of brand building. It works. I think there's a lot of similarity in the incense you sell and what Paul sold. I think there's a lot of similarity in what you have done and what Paul did - gone out to India and sniffed out incense you liked. Though I think the extra magic about Happy Hari was Paul's character. Not to everyone's taste, but he certainly left an impression!
I sit on a bench in the heart of the Park
ReplyDeletegreen,
Incense beside me, calm and serene.
The sun spills gold on all that I see,
A whisper of joy flows gently through me.
No riches I seek, no treasures I crave,
Just this moment, so tender, so brave.
The flowers bloom in radiant light,
Each petal a hymn, a soul taking flight.
Graceful ladies pass by with a smile,
Their laughter like music that lingers a while.
The world is a painting, divine and free—
A harmony woven by God’s decree.
Alive in this stillness, I need no more,
Grateful for all that the day has in store.
A seller of incense, a soul at ease,
Drifting through sunlight, embraced by peace.
I like that. Cool.
DeleteYou've gone back to selling incense in the park?
And that in itself is very much a Paul Eagle thing. Perhaps Bhagwan will become the new Happy Hari. You just need an alliteration in front of Bhagwan - Beautiful Bhagwan, Blessed Bhagwan, Bountiful Bhagwan, Brimful of Bhagwan!
Blessed Bhagwan sounds nice:) yes, I am selling incense in the park. The weather is nice :) I take 1L of tea with me and sandwiches:) lots of incense to sell, I accumulated several kgs of samples over the last two years.
ReplyDeleteCool. Might be fun to come with you on one of your exploration trips.
DeleteIf my incense business doesn't succeed, I might start importing Indian beer — Kingfisher is well-known, though I hope they don't add cow's urine to it! Alternatively, I could import jute bags from Bangladesh, as they're the number one producer of jute. I could offer Pure, Gokula, and TOI branded jute bags at very competitive prices.
ReplyDeleteBeer is cool. I love beer more than I love incense. Kingfisher is brewed in the UK by Heineken these days, so no cow's piss in it, even though it tastes like it! There's a range of interesting breweries in India to look out for - White Rhino, Yuksom, Mohan Meakin, etc. You'll know more than me, as you've been out there.
DeleteHi Eugene, you are very entrepreneurial and I am sure that you would succeed. My best wishes to you.
DeleteThank you, Alok! Same to you! I was sharing with Steve that it is rather unique and unusual for modern incense makers to create their own blends and kudos to you for investing so much time into this, well done, you have a bright future because your blends are already super special. I wish you all the best and I hope one day we can have a cup of chai in Mumbai! I don`t know when I am coming as I've spent 2.5 months in the South of India this year and my wife is a bit angry with me:) It is better not to upset a wife - a wisdom from almost 53 years old.
Deletehaha... sounds a great idea, Eugene! I would be very happy to meet you here and talk about your journey of incense business. Please inform me once you are in India. I wish you great success. Please feel free to reach out if I can be of any help in India.
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