How to burn Japanese incense
Updated By Mio.KShare
Japanese incense is simpler to burn than most people expect. There is no cone to balance and no charcoal to light. But a few small habits decide whether a stick burns to the end, fills the room gently and leaves the table clean.
Light the tip of the stick until the end glows red, then put out the flame by waving it or drawing the stick sharply downward, and let it smolder. Stand it in a holder or a bowl of incense ash, or lay it flat on the ash, on a heat-proof surface away from anything that can catch. Snap long sticks shorter if you want less. A short Japanese stick burns for about twenty minutes and needs nothing else.
I sell three Japanese incenses, and this is the method their makers describe, with the one point on which they disagree with themselves.
To know what to expect from the scent first, see what Japanese incense smells like.
Step by step
- Choose the length. Japanese sticks have no bamboo core, so you can snap one to any length. Shoyeido's own advice is to break sticks to a suitable size. Half a stick is plenty for a small room.
- Light the tip. Hold the flame to one end until it catches and the tip glows red all the way across. Either end works.
- Put out the flame. Wave the stick gently, fan it with your hand, or draw it sharply downward. The ember keeps burning and the scent comes from that, not from the flame.
- Stand or lay it down. In a holder, or upright in a bowl filled about four-fifths with incense ash. Laying it flat on the ash works too, and is how some traditions always burn it.
- Place it well. On a plate or tile that will catch the ash, in the middle or a corner of the room rather than right beside you. Japanese incense is meant to be noticed from a little distance.
- Leave it. A 70 mm stick such as Shoyeido's Horikawa burns for about twenty minutes. If you need to stop early, press the ember out rather than blowing on it; the rest relights later.
Should you blow out incense?
At home, it does no harm, and Nippon Kodo's English instructions simply say to blow out the flame. In Japan, most people do not. Nippon Kodo's Japanese guidance says to fan the flame out with your hand or pull the stick downward, and explains why: blowing your breath on incense in front of a Buddhist altar is considered bad manners. The habit carries over to everyday incense.
There is a practical reason too. A breath can scatter ash and sometimes leaves a flame alive inside the tip. A quick flick of the wrist is neater.
Holder, ash or plate
| Method | How | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Small stick holder | Stand the stick in the hole; put the holder on a plate | Everyday use, one stick at a time |
| Bowl of incense ash | Fill a heat-proof bowl about 80 percent with incense ash and stand the stick in it | Several sticks, or sticks of any length |
| Laid flat on ash | Lay the lit stick across the surface of the ash | Very short pieces, and a slower, lower burn |
| Heat-proof plate alone | Rest the stick with the lit end hanging clear over the plate | When you have nothing else; watch it |
Whether you need a special holder at all is its own question: do you need an incense holder.
Why a stick goes out halfway
Almost always the ash. Incense ash that has been in the bowl a long time absorbs moisture and packs hard, and a stick standing in it goes out where it meets the ash. Nippon Kodo's advice is to replace the ash (how to look after incense ash); Shoyeido suggests drying it in the sun and stirring air back into it. A draft that is too strong, or a stick left in a damp room, can do the same.
In the tea room, incense is not burned as a stick but added to the charcoal fire, from a small lidded box: what is a kogo.
At a Buddhist altar or a temple
At a family altar, people usually offer one stick or three, and the right number varies by region and by sect. Shoyeido's advice is to ask your family's temple. In the Jōdo Shinshū tradition, sticks are broken to fit and laid flat rather than stood upright. At large temples you will often see people wafting the smoke of the great incense burner toward themselves as they pass. Incense for the dead covers the household side in more detail.
All of this is different from kōdō, the formal art of incense, where a small piece of fragrant wood is warmed on a mica plate over buried charcoal rather than burned, and its scent is "listened to." Stick incense is the everyday form.
Storing it
Keep incense out of direct sun and away from heat and damp. Japanese makers give it no expiry date, but a box left open in a humid room slowly loses its scent. Close the box after each use.
Questions I get asked
How do you burn Japanese incense sticks?
Light one end until it glows red, wave out the flame, and stand the stick in a holder or a bowl of ash on a heat-proof surface. It smolders for about twenty minutes.
Should you blow out incense?
You can at home, but in Japan people fan the flame out or pull the stick sharply downward instead, because blowing on incense before a Buddhist altar is considered bad manners.
Can you lay Japanese incense flat?
Yes, on a bed of incense ash. Makers describe standing and laying flat as equally correct, and some Buddhist traditions always lay it flat.
Why does my incense keep going out?
Usually old ash that has absorbed moisture and hardened. Replace or dry the ash. A strong draft or a damp room can also put a stick out.
Can you break Japanese incense in half?
Yes. Japanese sticks have no bamboo core, and makers recommend breaking them to a suitable length.
Where this fits
The incenses I stock are Shoyeido's Horikawa, a sandalwood stick from Kunjudo and a Kyukyodo discovery set. If you are worried about the alarm, see whether incense will set off a smoke alarm; for what the sticks are made of, what Japanese incense is made of.
Written by Mio.K, who chooses everything in this shop by hand in Japan.