Neri-ko, the Japanese traditional incense

Neri-ko is a primitive form of incense made from diverse fragrant resin or wood powder that dates back to more than 1000 years ago.

Based on the try-out set released by Kogado, I made Neri-ko for the first time.



Mix the powder well,



then pour plum syrop.



Then make small balls.





Then burn the incense!

'Takimono-awase' is a form of game competing each other's recipe. In the "The Tales of Genji", the oldest romance novel written by Murasaki-shikibu more than 1000 years ago, Genji's wives and lovers competed with their own family recipes. How elegant!

I'm thinking about looking into the traditional recipes that are in "The Tales of Genji".