Japanese Incense Chest

 Having been fascinated with Kodo, the Japanese Incense ceremony, see my incense box https://craftisian.com/projects/11783-japanese-incense-chest-kodogubako  I came across a range of other boxes and specialist paraphernalia related to incense while researching kodo. While incense is burnt as part of many religious ceremonies and to 'purify' shrines and temples, many Japanese use incense in their homes where different incense fragrances are used at different times of the day to relax mind and body. This can be in the form of josh sticks, incense coils, burning trails of powdered incense, heating incense over charcoal or other heat sources, all of which have their own equipment and utensils.

So, the idea of making a chest to house all this equipment and the different incense used took shape. Sourcing it all was a challenge but great fun. Most came via AliExpress, EBay and a range of specialist online incense and aromatherapy stores. It was a slow process as while things are cheap off Ali, and often with free postage, it can take anywhere from 3 to 8 weeks for things to arrive. Of course, I needed all the equipment first, before I could start to experiment with and plan the layout of the chest.

The chest is compact at around a 9 inch / 270mm cube. It has a lift off lid, tied with a traditional obijimi sash.

The chest is marine ply veneered with red maple burl on the outside and cherry on the inside. The expanses of maple on the outside is broken by strings and edging of black. Inside are two trays made of banksia. The full-size top tray holds charcoal tablets, T-lites and a range of equipment for producing incense trails.

The small tray below holds a range of different incense - agarwood, sandalwood, salwood, frankincense's, josh powder etc.

The bottom of the chest holds various jars, containers, and incense burners.

The finished chest is not as complex as my first incense chest, but was just as rewarding to make and now use.

Please ask if you have any questions. Thank you for looking.