KODO -香道- for beginners

Can you tell your lover by his/her smell? Kodo experience allows you to feel what it would be like to do that. Kodo (incense ceremony) is a traditional art of enjoying the scent of aromatic woods started in 14th century. Here in Kokura we did an Kodo event and played a game, Kumiko -組香-, which we guess the right smell out of several random fake ones.

Each types of smell used in the game has a theme related to literature or historical events. This time it was a poem of “Ayame,” a beautiful maid named after the flower. The master of Ayame told a guy, who fell in love with her, that he could have her as his wife if he were able to tell her only by the smell.

In the game we take a smell of Ayame first and then we smell five types after that. We become the guy in the poem and try to guess which one out of the five was the true Ayame. Those who chose the right answer get to “marry her.” Sounds fun, doesn’t it? Join us in Kokura and feel Japan! Yuri 5 FACTS ABOUT JAPAN This is a column where I post some tips of Japanese culture. If you are going to spend some time in Japan, they might be helpful. 2. SEIZA IS NOT AS “TRADITIONAL” AS PEOPLE THINK. You may have heard that you need to sit in a formal way, Seiza (正座), on tatami floor. However the “formal” position of sitting is relatively a new concept created in the late 19th century. Before then there were various ways of formal sitting depending on people’s occupation. Seiza is also said to be not good for your knees, and it is now becoming less obligatory. Sit however you like, and just enjoy our culture! *Fact 1 was on the April 27th blog.