October, a month that deepened my longing for incense

(The following is translation of the e-mail which was sent to Japanese customers.)

This is Kanako Yoshida from YOUYOUANG.
How are you doing?

It's another brisk refreshing morning after three days weekend. Well, it's autumn, the season of art. I had two events that seemed like that.

Part 1

On October 4th, I participated in a special incense offering ceremony held by the headmaster of the Oie School of incense-art at the Inner Shrine of Ise Jingu. It was raining, but the rain miraculously stopped when we were walking outside, and it was a mysterious day in which I felt truly protected by the gods.

At 9:50 in the morning, the gate inside the main shrine of the Inner Shrine was specially opened for us to visit. At 11:00, we attended the incense offering by the headmaster at the Kaguraden.

After naorai (having offerings and sacred wine offered to the gods), we went to the Hinjitsukan, which was originally built as an accommodation for the royal family, and attended a special incense ceremony where we could listen to (smell) the natural fragrant wood which was offered at Ise Jingu this time.

At this gathering, we were asked to compose a waka poem, but I could not come up with anything as I was unconscious from sitting in a kneeling position on the floor, which I was not accustomed to.

On the way back, I stopped by the Tokugawa Art Museum to see the exhibitions "The Enchanting World of the Tale of Genji" and "The Flowering of Imperial Court Culture," where I saw incense implements handed down in the Tokugawa family and bought a kana character writing practice book.

On the bullet train, I downloaded the Shin Kokin Wakashu (collection of poetry compiled about 800 years ago) on kindle to my smartphone, and studied the classics for the first time in decades. Ah, I want to become an adult who can compose waka poems.

Part 2

I went to the Tokyo Art Club Special Exhibition, where famous antique dealers in Japan gathered together to display their wares.

As my uncle, who was exhibiting, said, "It's all real art that you can hold in your hands," there were many things that were scary to even touch (lol). There were also incense implements and fragrant wood on display. While many things were prohibited from being photographed, some of the incense implements were OK, so I'd like to introduce them.

1.　The Mitsui family's incense implements. Photos were not allowed, but I received a nice catalog.

2.　A paulownia wood incense chest

3.　More than 200 types of fragrant woods in the drawers

4.　The president of the shop opened a paper package with the name of the fragrant wood written on it, and inside was a waka poem (by Fujiwara Teika), origin of the name.

5.　A maki-e fragrant wood chest

6.　About 200 types of fragrant woods in the drawers.

The prices of the two chests are as shown in the photo. I couldn't help but touch them!

7.　ragrant woods handed down to the Tokugawa family, such as the Mito family. The president of the shop opened one of them. There were traces of its use throughout history. “We can carve off any part you like and sell it” he said. I wonder how much it was? (lol)

As expected, the energy emanating from the work was amazing.

I felt extremely tired. It was the same tiredness as when I went to the Musée d'Orsay exhibition at the National Art Center, Tokyo 10 years ago (when the Musée d'Orsay was being renovated, many great masterpieces came all at once).

If you don't take a break in between, you'll be overwhelmed by the works. After seeing exhibition, I had three cups of tea at the cafe in the venue and was finally able to talk. (lol)

It was a day when I was overwhelmed by the power of ancient art.

Last night, the night breeze was pleasant, and the moon was beautiful.

It's getting colder every day, so please take care of yourself.