The Japanese Kodo ceremony revolves around the appreciation of five types of agarwood (including Kyara) and Indian sandalwood.
Unlike the more common method of applying direct high heat to the wood that results in plumes of fragrant smoke being released, in the Kodo method the Monkoh (‘listening’ to the fragrance) style is used.
Inches of white rice ash and a mica sheet seperate the sliver of wood from the source of heat, odorless bamboo charcoal. The result is a stunningly pure, clear vaporous aroma.
Kyara To Byakudan possessed the truest-to-life aroma of burning the finest kyara-sandalwood incense.
Kodo, on the other hand, zooms in and focuses on the perfumy facets of these six precious woods, with the primary focus on Kyara.
And it takes it a step further…
For starters, there’s no smokiness here.
On top of bringing the various scent notes, i.e. the perfumy aspects, of the six precious woods into focus, the intent was to in fact amplify and exaggerate those flavors. Kodo is more kyaralicious than Kyara itself, more sandalwoody than sandalwood, and the various perfumy notes of different agarwood species are also augmented, with two intents:
- To help fans of agarwood and sandalwood appreciate the finer fragrant nuances, by making them more blatant.
- To boost those notes for the purpose of making a perfume that smells awesome and has mass appeal (you, and anyone you pass by will be captivated by the aroma).
If you’ve enjoyed Agar Aura’s Kinam/Kyara perfume renditions, you are sure to love Kodo.
Unlike all those before, instead of attempting to strictly adhere to the incense aspects, Kodo for the first time cracks open a window unto the resplendent perfumy nuances, dazzlingly brought to life.