Page 445 - Edo: Art in Japan, 1615–1868

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246 comparable to the development of the The large lacquer box, decorated with
Incense game set tea ceremony. By the Edo period, how- a motif of scattered fans on black
ever, the incense ceremony acquired lacquer ground, was designed to hold
Eighteenth or early nineteenth century a large following among wealthy mer- all the necessary accoutrements of
Lacquer on wood with gold and silver
chants and artisans as well. The pres- the incense competition. At the right
hiramakie; fittings of iron and silver ence of an incense set in the painting rear are the paper packets that held
3
15.5 x 23.6 x 17 (6V8X9V4X 6 A)
Tokyo National Museum of a courtesan by Miyagawa Choshun the incense. The shallow box in the
(cat. 245) is a reminder that the use front right holds the implements for
of incense, both in competitions and preparing and burning the incense.
• The Edo period saw the flourishing in solitary appreciation, reached a The cylindrical containers in the
of the incense ceremony (kôdô), a
peak during the Genroku cultural center include a tiered container for
highly refined pursuit in which parti- Renaissance of the late seventeenth incense, a container with a hole in
cipants test their skill at identifying and early eighteenth centuries. the top for participants to place
fragrances emitted by burning scented markers identifying the variety, and
wood or other aromatic substances. The incense set here was designed for two different types of vessels for
Incense connoisseurship had been a competition in which participants sniffing incense. The tray to the left
the province of the court, priestly, tried to identify the fragrances of four rear held the little squares of metal
and samurai aristocracy through the different types of incense. Three vari-
medieval period, when it became eties would be burned in advance to known as leaves of silver (ginyô),
which supported the incense
when
increasingly ritualized in a fashion allow participants to memorize each placed in the censer. The board in the
scent. Then the three types, plus an left foreground was used for keeping
unknown "guest" variety, would be
burned in random order, and partici- score. JTC
pants would attempt to distinguish
the subtle variations in aroma.