Violet incense, hana-no-hana, 40 sticks

At a glance

- Violet (菫): sweet and powdery, quietly refined
- 40 sticks; designed for a gentle nokoriga (lingering scent) after burning
- By Nippon Kodo (日本香堂); Hana-no-Hana series created 1911

Violet has a sweetness that sits closer to powder than to fruit, something that feels both old-fashioned and unexpectedly elegant. This stick captures that quality with a soft, slightly muted quality over woods; the most understated of the three Hana-no-Hana scents and the most suitable for a quiet afternoon or a room that does not need much more than a little gentle fragrance.

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.