Traveling the Way of Incense to a Richer Spiritual Life
21st heir apparent to the Shino School, Hachiya Souhitsu
Shinoryu Syouinken
Profile
Son of Hachiya Sougen, the 20th Master of the Shino School of Kodo, a tradition unbroken since the Muromachi period. Studied from 2002 at Daitoku Temple’s Shogen-in under Zen Elder and Temple Master Izumida Kyokudou, who in 2004 conferred upon him the temple name Issiken and Buddhist name Souhitsu. Cultural ambassador of the Japanese Ministry of Cultural Affairs and Honorary Member of the French Society of Perfumers.
Interview
The Kodo practitioner listening to incense has much in common with the Zen monk sitting in meditation. I believe that the Way of Incense offers a journey to a higher place for the spirit and the self, and it is my good fortune to be one who has been given the task of communicating this wonderful aspect of Japanese culture to the world.
Kodo uses only naturally occurring “sinking” woods as sources of incense, never anything artificial. All living things – trees, flowers, insects and animals, however small – have a spirit, one which communicates with the human heart. Of all living things, plants and trees live the longest, some trees for thousands of years.
Compared to that, we humans have a very brief existence. Moreover, if in this short time that we have on earth we fail to embrace our spirituality, we risk missing all that the natural world offers. When one focuses her heart and soul upon what is present, a surprisingly lovely fragrance is experienced; when distractions bother the mind, no pleasing scent will be detected. Kodo is above all about listening to the voice of nature; it is a culture of dialog with the natural world.
When one thinks of incense in Japan it is often within the context of the Buddhist faith, but there is also a deep connection between incense and Shinto. There is an annual ritual in Kodo whereby incense is offered at various shrines, and the Shino School performs incense ceremonies at Buddhist temples and sacred places year round. Some of these offerings can only be performed by the Shino master. Larger ceremonies include the offerings performed at Upper Kamo Shrine, in Kyoto, and Kasuga Taisha Shrine, in Nara.
In days past the samurai would imbue their helmets and armor with incense before going into battle. This practice was said to clear the mind of intimations of life and death. Though incense could not protect a warrior from the inevitable, in that transient substance he perhaps saw a projection of his own fragile existence. Should he return from battle with his life, he would remember it, and through it experience an understanding of life and death.
Shinoryu Syouinken
The rarity and effects of Kodo
In Japan there are many schools of tea and flower arranging, but only two of Kodo. Why only two? The answer is to be found in ancient writings of China and Japan, in the invisible references to scents in the waka poetry, and in the generally high degree of difficulty of the subject matter, as well as the fact that unlike tea and flower arranging, Kodo materials cannot be grown in Japan, nor cultivated at all, but are found only as naturally occurring “sinking” woods. These woods are only found in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Kalimantan (Borneo), and a few other jungles of Southeast Asia.
When the bark of aloeswoods is naturally nicked or scratched, the tree’s resins become intermixed with invading cells and bacteria. Over months and years the resins change under these influences, and eventually produce the distinctive scents of the “sinking” woods. This process generally takes from 100 to 200 years. Making use of these treasures of the earth, Kodo is itself an art of inestimable value.
In the Shino School the scents are divided into six countries and five tastes (Rikkokugomi), the countries being Kyara, Rakoku, Manaka, Manaban, Sumontara and Sasora, and the five tastes being sweet, bitter, peppery, sour and salty. In the Shino House, the scent of each wood is ranked on a scale of one to nine. Finally, an appropriate waka poem is read for each, and the wood is given a particular name.
The Song Dynasty poet Huang Tingjian wrote of the physical and spiritual effects of incense in his ‘Ten Virtues of Incense’. His words often adorn the alcoves of Kodo rooms. The ten virtues are:
(1) Refinement of perceptions
(2) Cleansing of body and spirit
(3) Removal of impurities
(4) Awakening from fatigue
(5) Release from loneliness
(6) Calmness under pressure
(7) Focus in the face of abundance
(8) Appreciation of small things
(9) Quality that does not decay
(10) Beneficial to do every day
Shinoryu Syouinken
The history of the Shino School of Kodo spans five hundred years, from the days of the founder, Shino Soushin, to the modern master, Shino Sougen. As mentioned, there are two schools of Kodo, but the Shino House goes back to the eighth shogun of the Muromachi Period, Ashikaga Yoshimasa, who encouraged its practice among the samurai. In the notes of school acolytes from the mid- Edo period, there are the names of twenty lords and over 1200 samurai who practiced Kodo, ranging from the Tsugaru clan of the north to the Bungo clan in the south. It is known that the woman of Edo Castle enjoyed games of Kodo, as well.
The Shino House was moved to Nagoya after the Hamagurigomon incident in Kyoto, in 1864. At this time some 30,000 homes were lost in the capital, and the Shino House was among those destroyed. Because the Shino House had long been supported by the Owari Tokugawas, the latter took it upon themselves to move the master (15th successor Hachiya Soui) to Nagoya. Under the protection of the Tokugawas, the family’s domicile was reestablished here, where it remains on grounds north of Nagoya castle to this day.
Shinoryu Syouinken
The Beloved Way of the Warring States Samurai
In the world of Kodo, there is no more famous incense wood than the “Ranjatai”, which was kept in the Shoso-in of Todai-ji Temple during the Nara period, and became known as the Emperor’s incense. Though this legendary piece of incense wood has charmed many over the centuries, it was only permitted to be sampled on three occasions, by Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Oda Nobunaga and the Meiji Emperor – each man the country’s ultimate power in his day.
Enjoyed by the likes of Oda Nobunaga, Date Masamune and Hosokawa Yusai, Kodo was very popular among the samurai, and the Shino School counted amongst its students members of the Mori clan. Tokugawa Ieyasu was also known to be very fond of incense woods, and issued a letter in 1601 in his own hand, specifically requesting the southern islands to obtain incense wood in their trading operations. A record of one cargo of valuables obtained under his direction included approximately 330 kg. of incense woods.
The Tokugawas came to possess many pieces of incense wood, and at one point these included the famed Ranjatai itself, which is said to have been handed over to Tokugawa by the Shino School’s 7th Master, Hachiya Sousei. This contribution to the Owari House of Tokugawa is still retained in the Tokugawa Museum, and is a further example of the deep ties between the Tokugawas and Shino School of Kodo.
