In Ghostly Japan | Page 7

inhaling the fume, puts into the tablet-box one tablet bearing that mark
or number which he supposes to be the mark or number of the incense
he has smelled. If, for example, he thinks the incense to be "guest-
incense," he drops into the box that one of his tablets marked with the
ideograph meaning "guest;" or if he believes that he has inhaled the
perfume of No. 2, he puts into the box a tablet numbered "2." When the
round is over, tablet-box and censer are both returned to the
incense-burner. He takes the six tablets out of the box, and wraps them

up in the paper which contained the incense guessed about. The tablets
themselves keep the personal as well as the general record,--since each
player remembers the particular design upon his own set.
The remaining nine packages of incense art consumed and judged in
the same way, according to the chance order in which the shuffling has
placed them. When all the incense has been used, the tablets are taken
out of their wrappings, the record is officially put into writing, and the
victor of the day is announced. I here offer the translation of such a
record: it will serve to explain, almost at a glance, all the complications
of the game.
According to this record the player who used the tablets decorated with
the design called "Young Pine," made but two mistakes; while the
holder of the "White-Lily" set made only one correct guess. But it is
quite a feat to make ten correct judgments in succession. The olfactory
nerves are apt to become somewhat numbed long before the game is
concluded; and, therefore it is customary during the Ko-kwai to rinse
the mouth at intervals with pure vinegar, by which operation the
sensitivity is partially restored.
RECORD OF A KO-KWAI.
Order in which the ten packages of incense were used:-- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 Names given to the six No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.
tablets used, III I GUEST II I III II I III II according to decorative
designs on the back: Guesses recorded by nos. on tablet; correct being
marked * No. of correct
guesses
"Gold Chrysanthemum" 1 3 1 2* Guest 1 2* 2 3* 3 3
"Young Bamboo" 3* 1* 1 2* 1* Guest 3 2 1 3 4
"Red Peony" Guest 1* 2 2* 3 1 3 2 3* 1 3
"White Lily" 1 3 1 3 2 2 1 3 Guest 2* 1
"Young Pine" 3* 1* Guest* 3 1* 2 2* 1* 3* 2* 8 (Winner)
"Cherry-Blossom -in-a-Mist" 1 3 Guest* 2* 1* 3* 1 2 3* 2* 6
NAMES OF INCENSE USED.
I. "Tasogare" ("Who-Is-there?" I. e. "Evening-Dusk"). II. "Baikwa"
("Plum Flower"). III. "Wakakusa" ("Young Grass"). IV. ("Guest
Incense") "Yamaji-no-Tsuyu" ("Dew-on-the-Mountain-Path"). To the
Japanese original of the foregoing record were appended the names of
the players, the date of the entertainment, and the name of the place

where the party was held. It is the custom In some families to enter all
such records in a book especially made for the purpose, and furnished
with an index which enables the Ko-kwai player to refer immediately to
any interesting fact belonging to the history of any past game.
The reader will have noticed that the four kinds of incense used were
designated by very pretty names. The incense first mentioned, for
example, is called by the poets' name for the gloaming,--Tasogare (lit:
"Who is there?" or " Who is it?")--a word which in this relation hints of
the toilet-perfume that reveals some charming presence to the lover
waiting in the dusk. Perhaps some curiosity will be felt regarding the
composition of these incenses. I can give the Japanese recipes for two
sorts; but I have not been able to identify all of the materials named:--
Recipe for Yamaji-no-Tsuyu.
Ingredients Proportions. about Jinko (aloes-wood) 4 momme (1/2 oz.)
Choji (cloves) 4 " " Kunroku (olibanum) 4 " " Hakko (artemisia
Schmidtiana) 4 " " Jako (musk) 1 bu (1/8 oz.) Koko(?) 4 momme (1/2
oz.)
To 21 pastilles
Recipe for Baikwa.
Ingredients Proportions. about Jinko (aloes) 20 momme (2 1/2 oz.)
Choji (cloves) 12 " (1 1/2 oz.) Koko(?) 8 1/3 " (1 1/40 oz.) Byakudan
(sandal-wood) 4 " (1/2 oz.) Kansho (spikenard) 2 bu (1/4 oz.) Kwakko
(Bishop's-wort?) 1 bu 2 sbu (3/16 oz.) Kunroku (olibanum) 3 " 3 "
(15/22 oz.) Shomokko (?) 2 " (1/4 oz.) Jako (musk) 3 " 2 sbu (7/16 oz.)
Ryuno (refined Borneo Camphor) 3 sbu (3/8 oz.)
To 50 pastilles
The incense used at a Ko-kwai ranges in value, according to the style of
the entertainment, from $2.50 to $30.00 per envelope of 100
wafers--wafers usually not more than one-fourth of an