Rose incense, hana-no-hana, 40 sticks

At a glance

- Rose (薔薇): rich and radiant, with woody depth
- 40 sticks; designed for a gentle nokoriga (lingering scent) after burning
- By Nippon Kodo (日本香堂); Hana-no-Hana series created 1911

A full, radiant rose that does not apologise for itself. Rich rather than delicate, with a woody depth that gives it weight, this is the most confident of the three Hana-no-Hana scents and the one most suited to an evening when the room needs some warmth and presence.

Hana-no-Hana (花の花, 'flower of flowers') was created in 1911 by master blender Yujiro Kito, who fused Japanese incense-making craft with Western floral perfumery to produce a fragrance that remained in production for over a century. It is often cited as Japan's first modern perfumed incense. Each stick is designed to leave a gentle nokoriga (残り香, lingering scent) in the room long after burning.