Die geheimen Lehrschriften zur Duft-Kunst (Kōdō hidensho) – Ästhetik und Praxis der Duft-Kunst in der Edo-Zeit

The Incense Ceremony is one of Japans traditional arts. After the early court enjoyed fragrance and incense in a playful manner (as documented by sources dating back as far as the early eighth century), it evolved during the fifteenth century into a complex ceremony. The moment of olfactory perception turned into a strict ritual, which combined performative as well as ornamental constituents. In the following Edo period (1603–1868) the Incense Ceremony is characterized by a significant rise in popularity, marked by a growing number of practitioners, who used written treatises to teach and transmit practical knowledge about the art. As one of the first printed treatises the Kōdō hidensho 香道秘伝書 (1669) reached wide circulation. Additionally, the number of comments on this specific treatise published in the century following its publication attest to its high status. While there are other treatises focusing on some aspects of the ceremony in more detail, the Kōdō hidensho does provide a solid overview on the ceremony, its material and performative constituents, its games and how they were celebrated. Consisting of nine separate parts in its entirety, the following translation presents the first two.