Baieido


Baieidō （Japanese language: 梅栄堂） is a Japanese incense company established in 1657, located in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, It is one of the oldest traditional incense makers in Japan.

History

Baieido dates back to the Muromachi period in Japanese history. During this period, the founder of Baieido, Kakuuemon Yamatoya, became a wholesaler of medicinal herbs in Sakai city. Sakai was a well-known trading port in ancient Japan in which incense trading was in high demand. In 1657, the founder named himself "Jinkoya Sakubei" and specialized in selling incense ingredients and incense sticks. "Jinkoya" was a name peculiar to Sakai, only medicinal wholesalers who specialized in incense were authorized to use this name. In the time-honored traditions of Jinkoya Sakubei, Baieido has dedicated itself to making incense for over 300 years. The method and recipes have been handed down from generation to generation in an unbroken secret oral tradition. The name "Baieidō" is derived from the three characters bai, ei, and dō. Bai means "plum tree"; ei means "prosperity"; dō means "shrine orsStore"

Traditional incense

The following are the main incenses made by Baieidō. Their staple incense is "Kōbunboku" （好文木）. Several of the other incenses are based on this incense.
TitleDescriptionJapanese
KōbunbokuExpression of the Plum Tree好文木
Tokusen KōbunbokuPremium Kōbunboku特選好文木
Kaden KōbunbokuFamily Secret家伝好文木
Bikō KōbunbokuDelicate微香好文木
Bikō KōbunbokuDelicate 微香好文木（煙ひかえめ）
Jinkō KōbunbokuAgarwood 沈香好文木（煙ひかえめ）
Byakudan KōbunbokuWhite Sandalwood白檀好文木
Sawayaka KōbunbokuCinnamonさわやか好文木
Kai Un KōGood Fortune開運香
Shū Kō KokuGathering of Fragrant Countries聚香国
Tokusen Shū Kō KokuPremium Shū Kō Koku特選聚香国
--
Jinkōya Sakubē Series沈香屋作兵衛
Byakudan Kokonoe KōIncense of the Imperial Palace白檀九重香
Jinkō Hōryu KōPhoenix & Dragon沈香鳳龍　香
Gokujyō Jinkō Kunshō KōRising Scent極上沈香薫昇香
--
Premium Series
Tokusen KokonoePremium Byakudan Kokonoe Kō特撰九重
Tokusen HōryuPremium Jinkō Hōryu Kō特撰鳳龍
Tokusen KunshōPremium Gokujyō Jinkō Kunshō Kō特撰薫昇
Tokusen KōshibokuTimbers of Confucius特撰孔子木
Tokusen KōenGarden Incense特撰香苑
Kyara KokōAncient Scent伽羅古香

Agarwood

Baieidō also pioneered research into the history of agarwood. Agarwood refers to a resin that develops from some trees in the Aquilaria genus that are infected with a fungus. The tree produces a resin to protect itself against the fungus. This resin is agarwood. Japanese incense often uses 2 common terms for agarwood: jinkō （沈香） and kyara （伽羅）. Jinkō refers to any kind of agarwood. Kyara refers to one specific type of agarwood.
Japan has been using raw woods in incense since the Kamakura period. Incense ceremonies are mentioned in The Tale of Genji in the early 11th century. Much later, possibly in the Edo period, different agarwoods began to be labeled with different names. The different agarwoods were given the category name "Rikkoku", literally meaning "Six Countries". Kyara is one of these 6 kinds of agarwood.
Kyara is thought to have originally come from Vietnam.
It is unknown where in Southeast Asia the original Manaban agarwood came from.
The original location of Sasora agarwood is also unknown. It possibly came from Assam, India.
Rakoku was from somewhere in modern Thailand or Laos.
Sumontara came from Sumatra, Indonesia.
Managa came from Malacca, Malaysia.
Most incense companies that make sets of "Rikkoku" replace these traditional agarwoods with available agarwoods that have similar scent properties to the original agarwoods. Baieidō has named the following agarwoods that are used in their incenses.
This agarwood is from Indonesia.
This agarwood comes from Vietnam.
Ogurayama agarwood comes from Vietnam.
Hakusui agarwood also comes from Vietnam.