In Ghostly Japan | Page 8

inch in diameter.
Sometimes an incense is used worth even more than $30.00 per
envelope: this contains ranjatai, an aromatic of which the perfume is
compared to that of "musk mingled with orchid- flowers." But there is
some incense,--never sold,--which is much more precious than
ranjatai,--incense valued less for its com- position than for its history: I
mean the incense brought centuries ago from China or from India by
the Buddhist missionaries, and presented to princes or to other persons
of high rank. Several ancient Japanese temples also include such

foreign incense among their treasures. And very rarely a little of this
priceless material is contributed to an incense-party,-- much as in
Europe, on very extraordinary occasions, some banquet is glorified by
the production of a wine several hundred years old.
Like the tea-ceremonies, the Ko-kwai exact observance of a very
complex and ancient etiquette. But this subject could interest few
readers; and I shall only mention some of the rules regarding
preparations and precautions. First of all, it is required that the person
invited to an incense-party shall attend the same in as odorless a
condition as possible: a lady, for instance, must not use hair-oil, or put
on any dress that has been kept in a perfumed chest-of-drawers.
Furthermore, the guest should prepare for the contest by taking a
prolonged hot bath, and should eat only the lightest and least odorous
kind of food before going to the rendezvous. It is forbidden to leave the
room during the game, or to open any door or window, or to indulge in
needless conversation. Finally I may observe that, while judging the
incense, a player is expected to take not less than three inhalations, or
more than five.
In this economical era, the Ko-kwai takes of necessity a much humbler
form than it assumed in the time of the great daimyo, of the princely
abbots, and of the military aristocracy. A full set of the utensils
required for the game can now be had for about $50.00; but the
materials are of the poorest kind. The old- fashioned sets were
fantastically expensive. Some were worth thousands of dollars. The
incense-burner's desk,--the writing- box, paper-box, tablet-box,
etc.,--the various stands or dai,-- were of the costliest gold-lacquer;--the
pincers and other instruments were of gold, curiously worked;--and the
censer-- whether of precious metal, bronze, or porcelain,--was always a
chef-d'oeuvre, designed by some artist of renown.
1 Girls are still trained in the art of arranging flowers, and in the
etiquette of the dainty, though somewhat tedious, cha-no-yu. Buddhist
priests have long enjoyed a reputation as teachers of the latter. When
the pupil has reached a certain degree of proficiency, she is given a
diploma or certificate. The tea used in these ceremonies is a powdered
tea of remarkable fragrance,-- the best qualities of which fetch very
high prices.
2 The places occupied by guests in a Japanese zashiki, or reception

room are numbered from the alcove of the apartment. The place of the
most honored is immediately before the alcove: this is the first seat, and
the rest are numbered from it, usually to the left.
V
Although the original signification of incense in Buddhist ceremonies
was chiefly symbolical, there is good reason to suppose that various
beliefs older than Buddhism,--some, perhaps, peculiar to the race;
others probably of Chinese or Korean derivation,--began at an early
period to influence the popular use of incense in Japan. Incense is still
burned in the presence of a corpse with the idea that its fragrance
shields both corpse and newly-parted soul from malevolent demons;
and by the peasants it is often burned also to drive away goblins and the
evil powers presiding over diseases. But formerly it was used to
summon spirits as well as to banish them. Allusions to its employment
in various weird rites may be found in some of the old dramas and
romances. One particular sort of incense, imported from China, was
said to have the power of calling up human spirits. This was the
wizard-incense referred to in such ancient love-songs as the
following:--
"I have heard of the magical incense that summons the souls of the
absent: Would I had some to burn, in the nights when I wait alone!"
There is an interesting mention of this incense in the Chinese book,
Shang-hai-king. It was called Fwan-hwan-hiang (by Japanese
pronunciation, Hangon-ko), or "Spirit-Recalling-Incense;" and it was
made in Tso-Chau, or the District of the Ancestors, situated by the
Eastern Sea. To summon the ghost of any dead person--or even that of
a living person, according to some authorities,--it was only necessary to
kindle some of the incense, and to pronounce certain words, while
keeping the mind fixed upon the memory of that person. Then, in the
smoke of the incense, the remembered