• 07 Dec, 2025 *

I ran out of my incense that I mostly used for meditation these days. I was feeling adventurous enough to try something new (I’ll talk about my previous incense on another day), and after a bit of research, I went in blind with Baieido’s Kobunboku. This is my second time with Baieido, the first try was a total failure, I was extremely disappointed (Imagine series - Sandalwood).

So, Kobunboku, first impressions, cold scent from the box is very pleasant, earthy, spicy and herbal. I like to split that 14 cm incense in half, and one such half lasts around 15-20 minutes, which is ideal for my morning zazen. It’s also more pleasant in such a small room as mine.

When lit, opening notes are gentle, but a little smoky. That made me worried for a bit, as the smokiness tends to really kill all the other potential notes for me, but thankfully that was not the case, as the scent soon transformed.

What hit me after a few minutes is how... "monastic" the scent is. I know you might be like, "what now?", but it has that note, that I probably cannot describe simply because of my lack of experience with incenses, but if you’ve ever been to a temple or even a church during mass, you might find it familiar. But that’s not really a top note, the true character of this incense I could describe as warm, spicy, (cinnamon/cloves) and flowery/fruity, in a cherry/plum kind of way. All that is supported by that aforementioned "monastic" note. A very pleasant scent overall.

If I had to describe what kind of atmosphere it creates, I would say cozy, little nostalgic, and sacred. This is a great meditation incense in my opinion. It’s not too "serious", because of the spicy and fruity notes, but at the same time, I can imagine walking into a small Zen shrine in a winter forest and feel this exact scent. It’s also a great companion for a relaxing time. Tea time, reading etc. Because of the spicy notes, it’s a great Winter scent.

Kobunboku is not very smoky, but I would, as with probably every incense, don’t keep both your windows and doors closed if you light it up in a small room. Because it’s a Japanese incense, it’s much more suited for small apartments thanks to the lack of wooden core, which naturally produces more smoke when lit. A very pleasant smell lingers for quite a long time afterwards, which is a fantastic feature.

Do I recommend it? I do. Would I return to it? Yes.

And with that, thank you for reading. If you have this incense, please let me know what you think of it in the guestbook, or privately!

• Name - Kobunboku (好文木) • Company - Baieido • Medium box - 100 pieces • Size - 14 cm • Burn time - 30-40 min

#incense #indoors